


The Garden of Heathen

by MagnoliaBloomfield



Category: Will Poulter - Fandom, the maze runner
Genre: F/M, Gally - Freeform, The Maze Runner - Freeform, maze runner - Freeform, maze runner gally
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 54
Words: 122,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24550579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagnoliaBloomfield/pseuds/MagnoliaBloomfield
Summary: Aussie has been stuck in the middle of a giant maze for years. Girls keep arriving every month like clockwork until one day they get their first boy.Everything changes that day including Aussie's place in their small world.Meanwhile, Gally copes with strange residual feelings after having his memory wiped. Thrown into the dangers of this all female environment makes it even harder to discover who he truly is and what his purpose could be.As things continue to fall apart around them, Gally and Aussie try to solve the mysteries of the maze and their lost memories.
Relationships: Gally/OC
Comments: 18
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

Box Day

It was Newbie day in the garden, a day that was exciting but also gave Aussie a lot of anxiety. Every month the box brought up someone, a girl who needed a lot of help, and Aussie liked to help. But she never knew who the box was bringing up. Was this girl going to be an angry one? A scared one? A crying one? They all needed different things from her and the quicker she figured out what that was, the better it went for everyone. 

Luckily she was pretty good at that, at least, she was better at it than the other girls in the Garden. Despite being able to read people well and act accordingly, Aussie always felt like she was the only one who didn't fit in. 

Her jobs in the Garden rotated between tending to the gardening, taking care of the animals, cooking, and mending clothes. She wanted to try her hand at building but didn't understand the angles and supports well enough to make anything structurally sound, so she settled on making things pretty. Most girls in the Garden thought it was a waste of time, but never tried to discourage her from doing it, mostly because it kept her busy and not bugging them. Plus, she was the first one the girls bonded with after coming out of the box, so there was a begrudging fondness they had for her. 

Thena was one of the few that actually valued Aussie's talents, mostly because she took care of all the Newbies. Thena knew it was an essential thing to do, she just didn't have the patience or temperament for it herself. She allowed Aussie to doodle around the garden as she wished if it meant they got a well trained newbie out of it each month. Plus, whenever a girl did crack up or break down, Aussie could usually mother them back into shape when that's what they needed. 

Aussie sat in her chair a few feet from the box holding her potato sack parasol to protect her from the sun. She slapped a mosquito off her arm and sneezed. 

"Ready to play house, Mom?" Thena asked as she came up behind her. 

"Ready as ever, Daddy-O" Aussie replied with a sniffle. She always felt miserable when the grass bloomed. 

"Have you been eating the honey?" Thena asked, noticing her symptoms. 

"I forgot," Aussie admitted. "I got too wrapped up in getting things ready for the newbie."

"Dang it, Aussie!" Thena chastised her, stepping around to look at the pale and scrawny girl before her. "You need to take care of yourself, even half as much as the newbies, you snit."

"Mm, thanks," Aussie mumbled, impressed with level of empathy she received, and turned back to stare at the box. 

Thena shook her head and looked away, wiping the sweat from her dark brow with the hand not grasping her spear. She didn't understand why pleas and reminders for her to take care of herself were met with such disregard. Especially when she proved she was fully capable of taking care of other people. You'd think Aussie would take excellent care of herself. 

"Why does it feel late today?" Thena asked as she checked the sun's position in the sky. 

"I know right," Aussie agreed. "I hate it, I don't know when that stupid alarm is gonna go off. Scares the crap out of me everytime as is."

"Even though you just sit there waiting for it everytime?" Thena asked, putting her hand on her hip. 

"Yeah. Go figure."

Thena stood there in silence for a couple moments, both girls staring off toward the box like it might do something different for the first time in three years. 

"Well, good luck with that," Thena said before turning on her heel and heading back to the shade. 

She saw Gertie, seemingly the youngest girl in the garden even though she'd been there 7 months in total. She was almost as soft as Aussie, though she had no issue with dissecting any body that life had vacated to see how it worked. Luckily she used what she learned to help anyone sick or injured, so everyone learned to deal with her morbid tendencies. 

"Gertie, take Aussie some water please, it's getting hot out there," Thena instructed. 

Gertie nodded her messy mop of golden curls and immediately dropped what she was doing to follow her new orders. She sure didn't learn that from Aussie. 

Little Gertie cleaned her hands and grabbed a clean mason jar. After filling it with drinking water she bounded over to Aussie on her little wooden throne. Thena may have been the leader in the Garden, but to Gertie, Aussie was Queen. The difference seemed to her that Thena cared about what everyone was doing and Aussie cared about what everyone was feeling. That's why every month she sat out there risking sunburn and mosquito bites and getting itchy in the grass to be first to meet the newbies. 

"Here's some water," Gertie panted. 

"Oh, thank you!" Aussie smiled, pleasantly surprised before taking a drink. 

"It's late today," Gertie observed. 

"I noticed," Aussie nodded. "Any minute though."

Aussie went to take another drink when the alarm went off, startling her. The glass hit her teeth, pinching a bit of her lip in between, and water splashed up her nose. 

"Gahl," she groaned, wiping her face. "Showtime."

She set the water and her umbrella down before getting up and making her way over to the box, Thena and the rest of the guards jogged up behind her. They were the biggest and strongest girls, usually they were the builders everyday but box day. They would unload the supplies and restrain the angrier newbies if need be. Thena had taken Aussie's suggestion and made it a rule that everyone hang back till they could talk to the newbie, just so she wasn't overwhelmed. 

The doors slid open and Aussie squinted through the mesh of the box. She blinked extra hard to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. She was just about to realize that the box had in fact done something different for the first time in three years. 

"Athena," she scream-whispered as she smacked the other girls arm repeatedly. "Is that what I think it is?"

The two girls exchanged glances before each grabbing a gate and throwing the top open. 

"Holy snit!" Aussie tried to squeal quietly to herself, she didn't want to alarm the other girls waiting behind them. 

"Wait!" Thena tried to grab her arm but she had already hopped down into the box. She motioned for the two strongest girls to approach. 

They watched Aussie crouched over a body, one that looked a lot bigger than any girl before. Finally Aussie looked back up at them, exposing the newbies face. 

"It's a freaking boy!" She announced, her blue eyes shining with amazement and a smile lit her face. 

Sure, she had wondered a few times 'what if? What if the box ever delivered boys?' But for three years it hadn't, so it had just been a fanciful daydream till now. 

Thena didn't understand why Aussie seemed excited about this strange new development, it was horrible news. 

"Tell the rest of the guards to get over here, and tell Lanie to keep all the other girls the hell away from the box," she ordered one of the guards who nodded and went off to do it. 

"Do you think they made a mistake?" Joan asked Thena as she kept posted by the box with her. 

"I have no idea," Thena admitted with a shrug as she held her spear at the ready, her eyes not leaving Aussie as she stayed crouched over the boy, staring at him. 

"Do you think if we leave him in the box they'll take him back?" Joan continued as the other guards arrived, hushed gasps leaving their mouths. 

"We need our supplies though," Thena pointed out. "He might wake up before we unload everything then we're shanked."

"We could put him in the pit, unload, then put him back," Joan suggested. 

As those two talked about getting rid of him, Aussie was lost to the rest of the world. She was trying to take in every detail of the first boy she could or would ever remember seeing. 

His hair was reddish blond and very short, and his skin was light with just hints of freckles. His eyes were deep set and he had full lips. He was wearing a rust colored shirt with buttons up at the collar and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing thick forearms. Aussie reached her hand out and hovered it over his, seeing that it was much, much larger. She wondered why he hadn't woken up yet and gently pressed her fingers to his neck to check for a pulse. Heart was beating. 

Even asleep he looked unhappy. Aussie glanced down at the rest of him as a small uneasy feeling began to grow in her chest. He was big. And not just that, he looked strong too. 

"Well, is he alive?" Thena asked her, feeling impatient. 

"Um," Aussie startled at her voice, her fingers pulling quickly away from the boys neck and swiveling to look up at Thena. "Yeah, he's alive. You know what, I think I should get out of the box before he-"

She was cut off by a gasp as the boy suddenly jerked awake. She turned back to look at him but he was already screaming, louder than any she'd heard before, and once she'd turned she was greeted with that massive hand she'd just admired wrapped tightly around her neck like it was a bean can, and flung onto her back. Her hands flew up to grab his wrist, which she couldn't even wrap her own hand around, as he loomed over her. 

Everyone but her was yelling now. The boy was yelling at her demanding to know where he was, the guards were yelling at him to let her go. She could see the fear beneath his anger, like a caged animal as he looked up at all the spears pointed at him now. 

Thena moved to were she could impale him without injuring Aussie too and took aim. Even as everything was going white and fuzzy around the edges, Aussie saw her and risked more pressure on her throat by releasing his wrist to wave at Thena to back down. Thena looked down at the girl like she was crazy, and then Aussie's eyes started rolling backwards. Thena had enough and hopped down into the box with a yell, hitting the boy hard over the back instead. He went limp, his huge body engulfing little Aussie beneath him. 

"Gertie!!" Thena cried loudly as she tried to push the boy off of Aussie. 

Joan hopped down beside her and helped till he was on his side by Aussie. Gertie's blond mop blocked the sunlight and signaled her arrival. 

"Get down here and help Aussie!" She demanded. 

Gertie hopped down beside her and looked at the boy with wide eyes. 

"Hey!" Thena snapped. "Help Aussie! Help her!"

Gertie swallowed hard and looked down at Aussie. Girls had attacked her before, but it was usually a disoriented and poorly aimed hit or scratch, the occasional hair grab, but nothing like this. She'd never lost consciousness before and it scared Gertie. She checked for a pulse and it was there but barely. She put her ear to Aussies mouth but didn't feel or hear any breathing. She began to give her mouth to mouth, nervously making the compressions as she was well aware how thin and fragile Aussie was. 

After the second compression Aussie drew a shuddering breath and the girls released the ones they'd been holding in a sigh of relief. Aussie was breathing with a bit of a wheeze and her eyelids flickered. 

"I should roll her on her side to keep any liquid from going in her lungs," Gertie informed Thena as she began to roll her the only direction they could, toward the boy. 

Her head was throbbing, her pulse pounding in her ears along with the muffled, far away sound of voices. As the blinding white light started to fade, Aussie saw him again, their faces close together. She could make out his pale eyelashes before he was lifted out of her sight, his head lolling backwards as the girls hauled him up by the arms. 

"Put him in the pit," Thena hoarsely instructed Joan, not taking her eyes off Aussie. "And you don't have to do it nicely."


	2. Changes

Aussie woke up in the twilight with a mouthful of Gertie's matted curls and a very localized pressure on her chest. She tried to swallow and it hurt. Gertie's head popped up to look at her. 

"You're awake!" She smiled. 

Aussie just nodded, afraid to try and speak just yet seeing how swallowing went. 

"Good news, I haven't heard any fluid in your lungs yet," Gertie informed her proudly. 

Aussie's eyebrows went up, her expressions going along with her thought of "'Yet'? That's lovely bedside manner, Gertie."

The younger girl helped her to sit upright and gave her a glass of water. The corner of her nose twitched in apprehension at trying to swallow again, but Gertie nodded reassuringly. Aussie braced herself and took a sip, Gertie instantly pressing the hollow can to her chest again and listening for liquid to go down the right way. 

Aussie rolled her eyes and tried to shake her head but that hurt as well. She was in her own bed in her raised house away from the trees. The builders did their best to keep her as far as they could from the pollen and grass that bothered her so much. Her home was near the punishment pits. They started as the old hole where they'd tried to dig under the wall. They were impossible to get out of without a ladder if you were in there alone, and extremely difficult even if you weren't. 

"Can you talk?" Gertie asked her. 

Aussie parted her lips to try, but it wasn't her voice they heard. 

"Hey!" A deep voice laced with panic yelled out loudly. 

"Oh geez, he's awake now too," Gertie groaned. 

"Hey, get me out of here!" He yelled again. 

"She threw him in the pit?!" Aussie asked though it pained her. Her voice was raspy and trying to make it louder was painfully ineffective. 

Upset with this development, she took a bigger drink of water and risked the pain to clear her throat. 

"Ah. Ah!" She tested it out. 

It hurt but she could do it now. She needed Thena to listen to her. She scooched down her bed so she could get out of it around Gertie. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Gertie cried, reaching for her wrist. 

"To get him out," Aussie said, pulling her arm out of the younger girls reach. 

"He almost killed you!" Gertie cried in confusion as she got up and tried to bar the door way. 

"He's scared, like we all were," Aussie said, her voice cracking in and out now that she was using it. "He can't spend his first night in the pit."

She pushed past Gertie and went down stairs, the last of the mosquitos swirling in the cooler air. 

"She has guards posted near the pit to make sure he doesn't get out and that no one gets close," Gertie informed her. 

Aussie ducked down to look below her house in the direction of the pit. Two guards with spears and torches were standing back to back in front of the pit, one to watch the pit and one to watch for anyone or anything approaching. The boy was still yelling to be let out of the pit, the guards not acknowledging his cries. 

She squared her boney shoulders that were a little too wide for the rest of her body and kept up her quick, long strides. Gertie scampered to keep up with the taller girl, all while trying to discourage her from doing this. Aussie would not be dissuaded, she knew this was wrong. 

Joan was the guard facing away from the pit and noticed Aussie coming. She left her post to meet Aussie farther from the pit where the boy wouldn't overhear as much. He was still yelling. 

"Aussie, what are you doing here?" Joan asked, her long, slender face illuminated by the flickering torch. "Holy snit fit, your neck!"

"Joan," Aussie interrupted her with her weak voice. "Why is he in the pit? Why isn't anyone talking to him?"

"Thena's order, she said he's stays the night in the pit for what he did to you," Joan explained. 

Aussie's eyes went wide.   
"The hell he will," she mumbled before sidestepping Joan and beelining for the pit. 

"Whoa!" Joan called as she dropped her spear so she had a free hand to grab at the determined girl. "No one is supposed to go near him, but especially not you!"

Aussie dodged her swipe with surprising ease and picked up her pace to the pit. The other guard noticed with surprise and timidly held her spear out as though to fend her off. Aussie just looked at her in disbelief and annoyance but didn't slow her pace. 

"What are doing?!" Joan yelled. "Stop her, don't spear her you snit!"

Aussie kept dodging Joan and heard a cracked "please" emanate from the boy that tore at her heart. She dodged Joan once more and avoided the other guard by taking a sharp turn to the right, the second empty pit now between her and the boy. 

"Oh lord, Gertie go get Thena!" Joan barked before she began to back Aussie toward the wall with the other guard. "Aussie, you gotta stop this."

They were too far for her weak voice to reach them so she just shook her head. They kept slowly approaching her, the closer they got the more time she'd have. 

"You're not thinking straight, and that's ok, you went through a lot today," Joan tried to coax her. 

Aussie noticed the boy had been silent for a little while now and wondered if he was listening to them now, if he knew someone was coming for him. 

The guards were almost close enough to lunge for her when a yell filled the air. The three girls turned and saw the boy had somehow got ahold of the top of the pit. Aussie used the distraction to her advantage, finally leaping over the empty pit and grabbing the ladder propped on the wall between them. 

Joan was too astounded by the fact he'd reached the top to react as fast as she'd have liked to. But she made her way around the pit now as Thena and the rest of the guard came running through the clearing. 

Aussie dropped the ladder down before falling to her knees and grabbing the boys wrist so he wouldn't fall. His ruddy face glowed in the darkness as he looked up at her in bewilderment. 

"Just trust me now and I'll give you a good reason to later, I swear," she told him. 

He used his free hand to grab the ladder and get himself on it. 

"Just don't run, let me talk to them," she told him. 

He scrambled the rest of the way out as Aussie stood up and faced Joan. The space was too narrow for more than two people to approach them face on. Joan had taken the other guards spear since she'd dropped hers earlier. Out of the two of them she was the best thrower and Aussie got nervous. She sensed the boy was all the way out now and as Joan got closer and the rest of the guards surrounded the pits, spears raised, Aussie put out her arms protectively and backed the boy up against the wall where they wouldn't get a shot at him without going through her. 

"Out of my way!" Thena's voice barked. 

Joan and the other guard retreated so she could get between the pits and close enough to talk to Aussie. 

He wasn't saying anything, just breathing hard, his chest rising and falling against Aussie's back as she continued to shield him as best she could for being a head shorter. 

Thena just stared at them in utter disbelief for longer than Aussie expected. She was madder than usual. 

"Would you like to explain to me what's going on here?" She finally asked, her voice was low and controlled but her eyes were wild with anger. 

Aussie took a deep breath and tried to come off firm and confident.   
"It's not ok, Thena," she began, her voice holding out just enough. "It's not ok to do this to him."

"He's getting the same punishment as anyone for harming another Gardener!" Thena yelled. 

"You can't punish him for breaking rules he doesn't know! We've never done that to any of the newbies before," Aussie responded. 

"Well this one is different, isn't he?"

"No," Aussie shook her head adamantly. "He got sent here just like we did, he's stuck here just like we are, he is one of us. What's the first rule in the Garden?"

Thena shook her head with a livid look on her face and took a step toward them as she pulled the knife out of her belt. 

"What's the first rule of the garden?!" Aussie repeated louder even though it hurt and her voice cracked. She pressed herself back against the boy even more as Thena got closer and felt his hand on her shoulder now. 

Thena stopped in her tracks and gave an angry growl as she rolled her eyes. 

"Don't break trust or friendship with the other Gardeners," Thena finally recited. 

"Right," Aussie breathed a sigh of relief. "He's a Gardener now. How's he supposed to trust us if we throw him in a pit by himself all night? How's he supposed to be friends with us if that's how we treat him when he's got no clue where he is or even who he is? How would you feel in his place, huh?"

"But he almost-"

"He didn't," Aussie cut her off. "You came out of the box swinging. So did a dozen other girls."

"Yeah, Girls!" Thena spat back. 

"It shouldn't matter!" Aussie argued. 

"He's stronger than we are, he's dangerous to all of us, how can we trust him?! Feel safe around him?" Thena pointed her knife at him with each word, venom dripping from her words. 

"I'm not the one who gave him a bad first impression, Athena!" Aussie finally yelled back, sick of this argument. "I'm not the one who gave him a good reason to hate us! What do you really think you're gonna do with him huh? Leave him in the pit forever? Feed him to the maze? What did you think you'd do with him?!"

Thena still looked enraged but said nothing. 

"You say you hate the makers because they took away our choice and our rights," Aussie spoke more softly which her throat was thankful for. "They did that to him too, let's not make it worse for him by taking his choice and his rights to live safely here. We'd be even worse than the makers."

Suddenly spears began to lower and the girls shuffled uneasily. Thena saw this and bit her lip, clenching the handle on her knife before putting it away. 

"Fine, but!" Thena said pointedly. "You're responsible for him. If he breaks the rules you both get punished, so you better make sure he knows them well. And first thing in the morning we're gonna make some new ones just for him."

Aussie took this as a win and finally relaxed a bit, her arms coming down to her sides and she stopped mashing him up against the wall. His hand stayed on her shoulder though. 

"Ok," Aussie agreed. "I'll be responsible for him."

Thena shook her head and ran her tongue over her teeth, still agitated. 

"I think you're an idiot and this is gonna come back to bite you in the butt, but you have a deal," Thena came up to Aussie and offered her hand to shake. 

They did so and the contract was binding. Thena glared up at the boy over Aussie's shoulder. Aussie turned and looked at him now too. 

"You remember your name yet?" She asked him. 

His brows had a naturally high arch to them that looked unnaturally high when he furrowed them. It gave him a mean look to his face but it didn't deter Aussie a bit. His eyes flicked from Thena to her and back again before he shook his head no. 

Thena turned away from them and addressed all the girls gathered around. 

"The boy is one of us now!" She declared. "Anyone who messes with him will get the same punishment as messing with any other Gardener. Tomorrow we'll figure out what else we need to do about having a boy around, but for now everyone go back home and get some sleep."

The girls looked around for a moment, before trickling back to their beds. Thena turned back to the two pains in her butt. 

"Alright, Mom," she said, crossing her arms. "What do you plan on doing with your baby boy for the night?"

Aussie faltered for a second, she hadn't thought about that. 

"He can stay in my house till we build him one of his own," she quickly offered. 

"And where will you sleep?" Thena pressed. 

"I'll figure something out. Easy," she shrugged, feeling that hand on her shoulder still and that drew Thena's attention to it. 

She gave the guy another glare.   
"Fine. Let's escort him home then," Thena said as she backed up, allowing them to come away from the wall. 

Aussie turned and looked up at him, his hand sliding off her shoulder. He seemed to have forgotten it was there because it faltered in the air for a moment before he shoved his thumb in his belt loop. 

"I'm sorry about ... everything," she sighed. "Come on, I'll take you some where safe and a lot nicer than that pit."

He was just staring at her intensely, struck quiet since getting out of the pit. She began to walk and he followed, which she took as a good sign. 

"Are you hungry?" She asked him. 

He seemed to think about it for a second then nodded. 

"K, I'll get you some food after I take you up," she told him. 

Aussie led the way up the stairs and Thena took up the rear. He had to duck to make it through the door. The room was lit by a single flickering lamp and Aussie went and lit two more so he'd get a better view of the room. Thena leaned on the door frame, unimpressed. 

"It's not much," Aussie gestured to the room before clapping her hands to her sides again. "But it's yours till we make you your own. One with a big enough doorway."

He didn't laugh. 

"Well, I'll go get you some food, you can shut and lock the door behind me, I'll knock when I come back," she told him as she slid past him toward the door. 

Thena turned and made her way down stairs. 

"What's your name?" He asked before she made it all the way out the door. 

His voice was deep and caught her off guard. 

"Oh," she spun around. "Sorry, I'm Aussie."

He just nodded and looked around the room. Aussie took that as a sign he didn't have anything else to say, so she turned and left to go get him some food. Thena was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her. 

"Think you got a boyfriend now?" She asked her. 

Aussie scoffed as she made her way to the kitchen. 

"We'll be lucky if he thinks of any of us as friends now," she said darkly. 

"Where is this attitude coming from all of a sudden?!" Thena demanded, causing the usually calm and happy Aussie to whirl around on her so suddenly she took a step back. 

"You made a bad decision, Thena," Aussie said, taking that extra step closer to her. "And I get it, none of us are perfect, we all make bad calls now and then, but you really messed up with him! And I only pray he can forgive us and feel safe here."

"That's the stupidest thing I ever heard, none of us are safe in this godforsaken place!" Thena scoffed. 

"So we shouldn't make it worse!" Aussie's voice finally cracked under the strain. 

She shook her head and turned to go on to the kitchen. In the low light she gathered a plate of food and got him some water before heading back, trying not to trip in the dark. 

Thena was waiting, intent on following her so she wouldn't be alone with the guy that almost killed her a few hours ago. She was used to Aussie being optimistic and soft spoken, not this rule breaking crusader that was marching toward her now. In the shadows the bruise on her neck made her head look detached from her shoulders. 

"Make it quick," Thena said as she walked by and up the stairs. 

Aussie gave her a snooty nod, rolling her eyes once Thena couldn't see her face. She knocked awkwardly with one knuckle as she tried not to spill the water. 

"It's Aussie, I brought you food," she announced. 

The door slowly swung in and his face peered down under the doorway. She tried smiling at him. He opened the door all the way and stepped back. Aussie took one step in and set the dishes on the little table by the door, trying not to invade what was now his space. 

"Do you need anything else?" She asked, not sure what else she could actually do, but it felt rude not to ask. 

"Can I ask you something?" He questioned, his voice quiet, for her ears only. 

She nodded, clasping her hands in front of her in anticipation. 

"Where am I?"

"We call it the Garden," Aussie began her rehearsed speech. 

"It's a perfect square, surrounded by... freaking high walls," she deviated from the script for some reason and just kind of rolled with it. "Every day a big set of doors open that lead to the maze, and every night they close. Now this is really important-"

"Hey! Hurry up!" Thena shouted up the stairs just then. 

"Just a second!" Aussie shouted down at her before looking back at the boy. He had taken a step closer when she wasn't looking. 

"Ok," she started again, her hands splayed in the air like she was smashing keys on a piano. "Please, please don't go into the maze because the doors close at night. If you're in the maze when the doors close... you don't come back."

"What happens?" He asked, his brows furrowed deeply. 

Aussie swallowed.   
"Nothing good," she admitted. "To tell you the truth, we don't know exactly. All we know is what we hear at night, and it's not pretty."

"Let's go!" Thena yelled again. 

"Listen," Aussie said quickly. "I will tell you anything you want to know as soon as I can, I promise. But I don't want to get you in any more trouble with Thena tonight, so I gotta go." 

She turned to leave. 

"Wait!" He called with an urgent edge to his voice as he took a long stride toward her. 

She stopped and glanced back at him, half out the door already. 

"So," he ran his hand over his mouth before settling his arms across his chest, an effortlessly intimidating pose on him. "If I do anything wrong, you get punished for it too?"

She nodded like it wasn't a big deal. 

"And what if I end up getting you in a lot of trouble?" He asked, his intense gaze piercing her. 

She shrugged.   
"I can live with that better than the thought of leaving you down there in the pit," she replied. "Try to get some sleep, you have a big day tomorrow."

With that she disappeared around the door frame. He looked out after her, seeing her ponytail swing wildly as she flounced down the stairs. At the bottom Thena stood staring daggers at him. He frowned and finally pulled back and closed the door. 

"What took you so long?" He heard her ask Aussie. 

"I answered some of the regular questions for him," Aussie replied nonchalantly. "You know, like, where am I?"

"Give it a rest," Thena said, her tone wasn't mean but almost apologetic. "Where are you sleeping tonight?"

There was a pause and he wondered if they got too far away to hear anymore. He walked to the far wall to see if he could catch anything else. 

"Snit," Aussie's annoyed voice finally reached his ears. "I forgot."


	3. Newbie

He woke up with his name stuck in the back of his throat and Thena pounding on the door. 

"Rise and shine, newbie! Time to come out," she called. 

He really didn't like her. He pushed himself up off the tiny bed and opened the door. Thena immediately pushed her way inside, dragging a sleepy looking Aussie with her and followed by another strong looking girl with a long face. 

"Did you sleep ok?" Aussie asked him, a small smile under her puffy eyes, marks on her face from whatever she'd been sleeping on. 

He nodded as he eyed the rope in Thena's hand. 

"Listen," Thena piped up. "You get to go to breakfast before we have our big meeting about how we're going to deal with you."

The way she said it so begrudgingly made him think that it was Aussie's doing. 

"To do that, we took a vote," Thena went on. "And the only way the girls agreed to it is if you were somehow handicapped for their protection."

The way that sounded made him nervous, he squared his shoulders out of reflex. 

"Relax," Thena said when she noticed. "We're just gonna give you a hundred and twenty pounds of dead weight to slow you down."

Aussie's brows furrowed now.   
"Wait, that's how much I weigh," she said, her raspy voice cracking. 

"Yep," Thena said as she grabbed her left wrist and wrapped the rope around it. 

"And Newbie here is your responsibility. I didn't want to do it since he already tried to kill you," she looked pointedly at him. "But none of the other girls would take your place." 

He looked at Aussie, finally seeing the bruises on her neck, four fingers on one side and a thumb on the other. He felt a knot somewhere between his chest and his gut. Had he done that to her? Images flashed through his mind of the bright sun light and screaming, and something soft and warm in his hand. He was so surprised by these memories returning that he barely felt Thena grab his wrist and tie the rope around it as well. There was about a foot and a half of slack between the two of them. He looked down at Aussie by his side, at his handprint on her neck, and wondered why on earth she'd stood up for him so aggressively. 

She felt his gaze and looked up at him. She mistook his expression for annoyance and gave an apologetic smile. When he didn't respond to that she looked away, wincing to herself. 

"Come on you dumb snits, let's go," Thena said, ushering them out the door behind Joan. 

His fist clenched involuntarily and so did his jaw. He really didn't like Thena. But he looked down at Aussie by his side and remembered she would be punished for anything he did. He slumped his shoulders and did as he was told. 

They walked across the clearing in the early light and made their way to the biggest structure. He noticed Aussie trying to time her steps so her arm would swing in time with his and not jerk the rope. He lightly shook his head before taking a good look around the place. 

"I'll show you around later," Aussie assured him. 

"Doesn't look like there's much to show," he stated blandly. 

"Well, it may be small, but it's what we've made of it that's worth showing," she said with a bit of pride in her voice. 

They were walking under a tree now with dozens of glass bottles hanging from its lifeless branches. They caught the sunlight just peeking over the top of the wall and spattered it over the Garden. He found himself staring up at it and slowing down to do so. Aussie paused so she wouldn't yank on him, and allowed him to look. Thena wasn't as patient. 

"Come on, breakfast will be cold by the time we get there," Thena complained as she grabbed Aussie's arm and towed her along, effectually tugging him as well.

The noisy bustle of the breakfast line reached his ears but when they finally saw him coming they softened to whispers. 

"Oh god, I forgot how much I hate breakfast," Aussie mumbled to herself but he overheard her. 

Most girls backed away from him as he walked through the line with Aussie and Thena. Some defiantly stood their ground, but all of them seemed genuinely unwelcoming. The back of his neck felt prickly from all their stares and he almost wished he had been left in the pit. 

"Bleh," the small noise came from Aussie, gaining his attention. Looking down at her, with her little mushroom shaped bun on top of her head, relieved some of the tension he felt. 

"Now this, this I apologize for," Aussie said as she handed him a bowl of sludge. 

"Overnight stew," she shuddered, her tongue poking out in disgust. 

"It's good for you," Thena told him pointedly as she practically slapped a piece of bread down on Aussie's bowl. "So it's more than you deserve."

He didn't get any bread. 

Thena left them there which surprised him, he thought for sure she'd hover over them the whole morning. He looked to see where she was going and was met with the staring eyes of all the girls who had already sat down to eat. He was a giant spectacle, sticking out like a sore thumb. He hated the attention. 

"Let's go sit," Aussie piped up, pulling him out of his thoughts. 

She led him to a table that was at the far corner of their seating area and he was glad for it. It was under the one tree that grew between the kitchen and the open field, and it shielded them from the sun. Once they sat down, some girls at a nearby table quickly got up and left. 

"Don't take it personal," Aussie said as she poured two glasses of water. "That's what they do when it's just me, too."

She was trying to make him feel better but he could tell she wasn't exactly lying either. Everytime her voice would fade out or crack a little pang would go off in his chest. 

"I'm guessing you'll probably need bigger portions than the rest of us," she started talking again, feeling a bit awkward now. "For now, if you want mine you can have it."

She took a bite of her bread, leaving her left hand close to him on the table so he had enough slack in the rope to bring his spoon to his mouth. He looked at her, trying not to be obvious about it. Her hunched posture and boney shoulders made her look like a little vulture, last night she'd seemed so much larger than she did now. Those eyes were the same though, big and bright. They couldn't hide a thing. His gaze flicked down to the bruise on her neck again, four dark purple fingers so clear he could almost see his actual hand there around that tiny neck. He looked down and stirred his food, brows furrowed. 

"I, Uh...I remembered my name," he told her, thinking she might like to know. 

"You did?!" Her voice cracked in her excitement and her face lit up as she turned to face him. "That's great! What is it?"

His lips pressed together in the hint of a smile, and his brows relaxed as well, as she sat on the edge of her seat waiting to hear it. 

"Gally," he said it for the first time, his chest feeling a little lighter now. 

"Gally," she repeated as her gaze intensified, looking him over.   
"I think it suits you," she finally nodded in approval, a smile breaking out on her face. "It's nice to meet you, Gally."

She offered her hand to shake like they were meeting for the first time. He was a little embarrassed but figured he could give her this after all she'd done for him. He shook her hand gently since it was impossibly small. He doubted it had real bones in it, maybe just cartilage, like ears. Speaking of ears, she noticed the tips of his had turned red. 

They had turned back to their food when someone hesitantly approached their table. 

"Oh, good morning Gertie!" Aussie greeted a girl with a wild blonde halo of curls sticking out in all directions. 

The girl smiled at Aussie before giving Gally a nervous look. He tried to give her a vaguely friendly nod which must have sufficed. She took the seat across from Aussie. 

"How are you feeling?" Gertie asked her. 

"Like I don't miss breakfast," She grimaced before sliding her bowl over to him. 

Gertie handed her the bread from her bowl and Aussie smiled appreciatively. 

"I mean," Gertie went on, gesturing to her neck while giving him a sideways glance. "How do you feel?"

His shoulders drooped slightly as he stared down. 

"Oh, fine. I'm fine," Aussie emphatically insisted as she waved her hands. 

The absolutely tired and reproachful face Gertie made at her was almost amusing to Gally. 

"Lies lead to misdiagnosis and death, Aussie," she said gravely. 

"Gertie, really," Aussie began getting flustered. "Really, really I am O.K. I'm not dying, ha ha! It was.. it was nothing."

She was trying so hard to downplay it, not wanting his feelings to be hurt or have him believe she was upset at him for it. He didn't seem to think much of it, he just began eating her bowl of stew. 

"Well, I'll be the judge of that," Gertie said as she stood and leaned over the table, her hands examining Aussie's neck for swelling.

"Ouch," she winced at one of Gertie's probing fingers, catching Gally snap to attention in her peripheral vision. 

"Turn your head," Gertie instructed, gently pressing her chin with her thumb. 

She was biting her lip and kept her gaze on the ground when her head was turned Gally's way. 

"Seems ok," Gertie said, her eyes looking over at Gally. "I guess I can forgive you."

Gally looked up her, brows furrowed again in confusion. She extended her hand to him. 

"I'm Gertie," she said, as he hesitantly shook her hand. "You ever get hurt, or see anyone else get hurt, you come to me."

Aussie was looking quite pleased at this development. 

"I'm Gally," he introduced himself. 

Gertie's eyes widened the slightest bit in surprise.   
"Remembered your name already, huh? That's cool."

Based on that reaction he figured the only warm reception he'd get was Aussie's. But Gertie didn't seem so bad, she might actually treat him fairly. 

"So," Gertie turned back to Aussie and spoke in hushed tones. "Is that a nasty look he gives, or does he just look nasty?"

"Gertie," Aussie said pointedly through clenched teeth. 

She didn't get a chance to chastise her further because Thena was calling everyone to attention. Everyone began grabbing their seats and following her out to the field where a small platform was set up. 

"Time to go to the meeting," Aussie informed him as she took a nervous breath. 

Gertie turned and grabbed the stool she'd been sitting on and Aussie got up as well. Gally grabbed her seat before she could and his own with his other hand. 

"Oh, thanks," Aussie sounded surprised. 

He just pressed his lips together and nodded for her to lead the way. 

Thena was standing on the platform, the sun making her ebony skin glow, watching everyone trickle into the clearing. When she spotted Aussie and the boy she pointed for them to come sit next to the platform. Aussie nodded and they made their way to the front. Gally had to sit there facing all the girls, their scrutinizing gazes covering him like ants as they waited for Thena to do a head count.

"Alright," Thena clapped her hands together. "You're all here so let's get started. Yesterday the box brought up our first boy Newbie."

"Do you want to tell them your name?" Aussie leaned over and whispered to him. "Or you want her to keep calling you "the boy" the whole time? Just know, the longer you go without a name the weirder the ones they come up with get."

"Whatever, you can tell them," he shrugged. 

Aussie raised her hand at Thena who paused her speech with an already annoyed sigh. 

"What?" She asked her. 

"He remembered his name, it's Gally," Aussie supplied. 

"Gally?" Thena repeated. "His name ... is Gally and he's with a bunch of 'gals'?"

The girls giggled at this and Gally just kept his eyes focused down on the grass. 

"Naturally," Thena commented before going on with what she had been saying. "So, Gally is stuck here like the rest of us and that makes him a Gardener too. Our main rules still apply to him just like any of us. Rule one!"

All the girls recited the first rule in one loud voice. 

"Never break trust or friendship with another Gardener!"

"Rule 2!" Thena called for. 

"Never intentionally harm another Gardener!"

"What's the punishment the first two times?"

"24 hours in the pit! No food or water!"

"What's strike three?!"

"You're given to the maze!"

Gally looked over at Aussie with concern.   
"What does that mean?" He asked. 

"It means," Thena spoke over Aussie's head. "That we send you into the maze and make sure the doors shut with you on the other side of them. And since Aussie's responsible for you, you wouldn't be going in alone."

"We've never had to actually do that though," Aussie assured him. 

"Aussie, why don't you remind us of rule three," Thena requested. 

"Do your work and pull your weight," Aussie supplied. 

"Right, now we have to -"

"What about rule 4?" Gertie piped up. 

Thena rolled her eyes.   
"It's not really important-"

"Say please, thank you, and sorry!" Gertie shouted anyway, making some girls laugh and others shake their heads. 

"You come up with that rule?" Gally asked in a whisper, to which Aussie nodded. 

"Anyway, the important thing is we have to figure out how we're gonna adapt to this change," Thena regained everyone's attention. "Obviously, we need to protect ourselves-"

"Excuse me!" Aussie raised her hand again.

"Oh god- What?" Thena barked. 

"Can we just calm down on that subject? He had a normal reaction when he came out of the box, try to remember when it happened to you," she stood up and addressed all the girls. "It was scary and confusing. If I had to count all the Newbies that came up fighting I'd use all my fingers and some toes. Now, try and imagine how you'd feel if you came up to a bunch of boys and you were the only girl! How would you feel? What would you want?"

Aussie looked out over all the girls as they exchanged glances and murmurs. 

"Yeah, yeah," Thena waved her off. "We don't need your gooey feelings speech right now-"

"No, I really want answers from them," Aussie went on seriously. "That's how we're gonna figure out what to do. Because you're not going to impose any rules on him that you wouldn't want imposed on you, and you're not going to deny him any of the things you'd want if you were in his place."

Thena stood there dumbstruck at how quickly this meeting had fallen out of her hands and how sweet little Aussie was running it with absolute authority. 

Gertie raised her hand tentatively. 

"Yes, Gertie," Aussie acknowledge her. 

"Well, if I was the only girl with a bunch of boys," Gertie started. "I'd want my own safe place to sleep away from them... and my own place to go to the bathroom."

"Good!" Aussie commended her before turning to Gally. 

"Do you agree?" Aussie asked him. 

He glanced out at the girls, at Thena standing there seething, and back at Aussie before nodding yes. 

"What else do you want?" Aussie asked him. 

"Hey now, we outnumber him, we should be telling-" Thena began to interrupt but Aussie was becoming that girl from last night again, getting larger right before Gally's eyes. 

"He's a Gardener, how can we outnumber ourselves?! It's not us versus him, it's just us!" She shot back. "We- myself included- haven't given him a chance to speak for himself, which I know none of you would stand for if the roles were reversed. So Gally, I'm sorry. Please, you're welcome to speak."

He ran his free hand over his face before standing up. He tried to cross his arms, forgetting about the rope, and pulled Aussie's arm with it. She let it hang there, not minding a bit. 

"I don't mind following your rules," he started off. "I won't give you a reason not to trust me, I won't hurt anyone, and I'll do my share of the work. I understand everyone has a right to privacy and I'm willing to work with that. I had as much choice as you all did being sent here, so I don't want to be treated like a criminal or animal just because I'm not another girl."

He looked pointedly up at Thena when he spoke that last part, then calmly took his seat again. 

Suddenly Joan popped up.  
"Like Gertie said, we should build him his own place. That way he feels safe from us at night too. And his own latrine. But washing up is harder, there's too many girls to build something big enough for all of us."

"What if he kept Aussie's schedule?" Lanie popped up and suggested. "If he stays up later and gets up later, we can do our washing up in the mornings and they'd do theirs at night. If we build his house out of sight of where we wash up that solves the privacy issue."

"Aussie, ask him if it's a deal, the privacy schedule," Joan recommended. 

"Uh, hello?" Thena piped up, annoyed. "As the leader shouldn't I be making the deals?"

"But Aussie's already right there," Joan pointed out. "You tied her to him."

The girls chuckled at this. 

Thena pinched the bridge of her nose and gestured for Aussie to get on with it. 

"Gally," Aussie began, twirling on her heels to face him. "Do you agree to honor the privacy of the girls by sticking to a schedule that will allow them to wash up in the mornings, by staying in your home till an appointed time?"

She thrust out her hand at him and waited for his response. 

"Sounds fair to me," he shrugged and reached out. 

Aussie's little hand clamped onto his forearm and his wrapped entirely around her skinny arm. 

"I hate to say it but I think it's gotta be said," Gertie spoke up again. "But I don't know anything about birthing human babies, so I think we need a rule against sexual activity."

One girl burst out laughing, many turned red out of embarrassment including Aussie. Gally was fully red as well. 

"That-" Aussie faltered for a moment. "That is important, Gertie, so uh, we're proposing the rule of no s-sexual activity, consensual or otherwise?"

"Aye," multiple voices agreed. 

"Ask him for the deal," Thena begrudgingly instructed Aussie. 

Aussie turned to him with less enthusiasm than before. 

"Do you you agree to n- to that rule?" She asked, putting her hand out again and swallowing hard. 

He immediately shook again, he'd never be tempted to touch any of these little heathens. Besides, it would just be a heap of trouble in the long run like Gertie said. 

Aussie turned and looked up at Thena who was staring expressionless daggers down at her. 

"I'd like to amend that rule," Thena said suddenly. "We need to clarify what that means. I say there should be no touching at all."

"Well, that's not really a good rule," Gertie began to mouth off immediately earning a glare from Thena. "What if it's an emergency and helping someone requires touching them? You want him to watch us fall and crack our skulls open if he could easily catch us?"

Some of the girls began nodding their agreement to Gertie's statement. 

"Compromise?" Aussie asked. "No touching unless necessary?"

"I can compromise," Thena said, reaching down to shake hands with Aussie for her end of the deal. 

Aussie turned back to Gally a third time and offered her hand. 

"Gally, do you agree to the adjustment of the rule, no touching unless necessary?" She asked. 

He looked at her delicate hand and soft skin for a moment before taking it. He paid attention to her fingers pressed against his skin, and when they let go, how his fingers trailed down the inside of her arm to her palm before their hands returned to their sides. 

The deal was made. The new rules were in place.


	4. Chapter 4

"All right, I guess that's it for now," Thena sighed. "If anything else comes up we'll just address it then. Aussie, start showing the Newbie around, everyone else get to work!"

The meeting broke up awkwardly. Some girls were quick to leave and get to the safety of their chores, others just shifted their weight for a moment as if to say "what, that's it?" But eventually the majority of them dissipated. Gertie stuck around, she'd just have to wait for someone to get hurt today, and Joan and Lanie came over to Aussie and Gally as well. 

"I'm Joan, I'm in charge of the guards," she introduced herself to Gally. "Welcome to the Garden."

"Thanks," Gally said as he shook her hand. 

"And I'm Lanie, I'm in charge of the Gardeners who actually garden," she laughed. "Basically everyone but the guards that is."

Aussie was very happy to see at least three people be hospitable to him so far. Maybe things would actually be ok, it seemed like Team Gally was a sturdy little group already. 

"Don't take this the wrong way, it has more to do with Aussie than with you," Joan began to say, making Aussie's heart clench in a small terror of what she might say. "But if she gets hurt because of you, I won't be scared to come after you for it."

Gally noticed Aussie's head bob back in surprise, but he'd expected as much from Joan. Joan was half a head taller than Aussie and noticeably muscular. He didn't doubt she'd give a fair fight regardless of them being different genders. He wasn't afraid of that fight either, but the thought of doing harm to Aussie was like stomping on a baby bird that fell out of its nest, it just wouldn't feel right at all. 

"But other than that," Joan added, a more lighthearted tone in her voice. "You can count on me to have your back. I take my job very seriously."

"So do I!" Lanie seconded. "If you need any help or just have any questions I'm here to help."

Lanie was shorter than Aussie and had sandy colored hair down to the tops of her shoulders. She kept bouncing on the balls of her feet. 

"See you later, Aussie," Joan patted her shoulder before making her way toward the kitchen. "Let's get to work, Lanie."

Lanie waved at Gally before running after Joan, leaving Gertie behind. 

"Ah, I remember when Aussie was showing me around on my first day," Gertie sighed with an over exaggerated wistfulness. 

Aussie was silent but gave the younger girl a very intense look of "what the snit are doing right now, you weirdo?"

"Well," Gertie clapped her hands together. "Enjoy your special time with her."

With that she just casually walked off. Aussie's bewildered gaze followed her even as she began to speak to Gally. 

"So..." she shook her head and turned to Gally, her expression clearing up as she tried to move past that awkward moment. "W-What would you like to see first?"

Gally scratched his jaw as he looked around. 

"Well," he started, awkward himself. "Uh, the bathroom?"

"Oh!" Aussie's brows shot up. "Yeah of course. I'm sorry!"

"It's ok. Thena didn't give either of us much of a choice this morning," the words just came out of his mouth as Aussie began leading him toward the wooded area.

There was a little path worn heavily through the grass and the trees, rocks and pebbles worn smooth and roots flattened. They followed it through the shade of the trees for a while till two little shanties appeared. There was a rut worn perpendicularly across the path and Aussie stopped in it. 

"The little flags tell you if they're occupied or not, looks like no ones in either of them right now," Aussie started explaining quickly. "If they were occupied, you'd wait here for your turn. There's disinfectant for your hands inside."

Gally stared down at her before raising his right wrist, the rope pulling her hand up as well. 

"How the heck are we supposed to do this?" He asked. 

"Oh, easy," she waved him off before taking a look over her shoulder to make sure no one was around. 

She grabbed the rope on her wrist before bending over a little for leverage. She practically folded her hand in half and just slipped it off, her skin flushing red from friction and scratches. She grinned triumphantly at him as she held her end of the rope up before handing it to him. 

"I won't tell Thena if you don't," she bargained.

Gally stood there for a moment, wondering how dumb she could be or if this was possibly a test. 

"And you trust me to just come right back and let you put this back on?" He asked her. 

Aussie sighed and her expression went flat.   
"Look, don't take this as a personal challenge or anything, but I don't think you're going to run away from me," she told him matter of factly. "Because you realize if you spend one day inconvenienced with me, those other girls will start to trust you and maybe not make your life a living hell. Besides, there's no where for you to go anyway."

She stared up at him, unwavering, till he finally turned and leisurely made his way to one of the latrines. Once he was gone, Aussie let out a heavy sigh of relief and leaned on a nearby tree. She'd always made eye contact with the girls and never had a problem with it, but trying to stare at Gally felt like looking directly into the sun, she couldn't do it for any length of time without burning up.

She cradled her rope burned hand and thought back to making all those deals with Gally, getting to be the one to feel that big hand grip her arm. Even now, just thinking about it, her skin tingled where it had been touched by him. It was much, much preferable to having it wrapped around her throat. 

There's a boy, she thought. There's a boy in the garden. 

The idea thrilled her, it was new and exciting and different, a buzzing warmth spread in her chest. 

But wait, she thought again, the warm buzz turning into a stone in her chest. It's one boy in a garden of 34 girls. 

That spelled trouble five different ways. 

"What are you plotting?" Gally's voice startled her from her thoughts. 

"What? Nothing," she said quickly, pushing herself off the tree. 

Gally, with brows unfurrowed for once, handed her the end of the rope and she gave a small smile, glad he'd listened to her. She began working the rope back onto her hand, grimacing as it scratched against her already bothered skin again. Once it was on she glanced up at Gally to find him staring at her hand, his brows back to being furrowed already. She was getting used to that being his default setting, but this time they seemed softer, maybe apologetic. 

"Ok," she breathed. "What do you want to know? Where do you want to go?" She put her arms out before letting them slap against her sides, signaling she was wide open for anything. 

"Do you know why we're here?" He asked her.

".. No.." she admitted, sad that she was so eager to be helpful but was ultimately going to have no good answers. 

"Alright," he sighed. "I want to see the maze. Just tell me whatever you want on the way there."

"Ok," she perked up a little and began walking back the way they'd come. "So once a month we get a new girl that comes up in the box, same day every month, always a girl until yesterday."

Gally listened to her, getting his wrist gently tugged as she gestured. 

"Once a week we get supplies from the same box. Food and gas for the generators and disinfectants blah blah," she went on. "It's been like this consistently for three years now."

He stopped looking around at the small forest and snapped his attention onto her, sunlight dappling her face through the leaves and highlighting a few white hairs near her forehead. 

"Wait," he interrupted, coming to a halt. "Three years?"

"Yup," she confirmed, seeming to know full well how ridiculous it was. 

His brows went up as he took a long blink and shook his head. He started walking again and she kept talking. 

"Everyone here has a job to keep this place going. There's cooks and gardeners, there's the girls who take care of the animals, Gertie is the doctor and some other girls help her out, there's guards and builders and all that jazz. But then there are the girls who go out and try to figure out the maze."

"You told me no one is allowed in the maze?" He reminded her, confused. 

"No, I didn't say that," she swatted at a branch that snagged at her shirt. "I told you not to go in the maze, especially not before I warned you about the whole thing. Can't have you dying when you've just got here."

They emerged out of the trees into the full light of day, both of them squinting till their eyes could adjust. 

"Has anyone died?" He now asked her. 

"Uh, yeah," she admitted, her voice was small. "Just two though, that's not a whole lot, if you were worried."

"And they died in the maze?" He went on, ignoring her concern. 

"One did, yes. She didn't make it out before the doors closed," Aussie said and then fell silent. 

Gally took a glance at her face to see if she would go on. 

"Well, what about the other one?" He pressed her. 

Aussie was quiet for a moment longer before she finally looked up at him. He was used to her big eyes being bright and shiny every second of the day, but this time they were a darker blue and shining with welled up tears. She was biting her lips before she gave him a little shrug. 

"She killed herself."

Gally regretted asking. He walked on in silence for a bit, letting Aussie wipe her eyes and recompose herself. They were getting close to some goats and sheep in the grassy area when she seemed to perk up. 

"Oh, but it's not all bad here," she said with a bright edge to her voice. "I mean, we have a dog! Can you whistle?"

Gally looked down at her, thrown off by that weird question. 

"Like, one sharp whistle? Mine aren't loud at all," she went on. 

He had to think about it for a second but something did come to him. His hand went to his mouth and he did it, one sharp whistle. How did he know to do that? He couldn't remember anyone teaching it to him. He almost didn't notice a black and white furry missile charging at them through the grass. Aussie was smiling so big. 

"There he is!" She sang as the dog leapt at her, a shaggy white border collie with black cow spots. "Are you being a good boy? You working hard?"

She smushed the dogs face up as she rubbed his ears, talking to him with a playful tone. Her hands stroked the dog but she was looking up at Gally now. 

"Do you like dogs?" She asked him. 

He pursed his lips in thought as he looked down at the dog. It didn't seem to care he existed so long as Aussie was giving it attention. But something in the back of his head said yes, yes he liked dogs. 

"Yeah, I do," he finally said. 

"Well, you can pet Moo if you want," she smiled like he was being silly. 

The dog finally looked up at him, one brown eye and one blue, panting in a way that made him look like he was smiling. Gally reached his hand out slowly and Moo sniffed it before nudging his head right under it. Gally scratched him between the ears and was surprised at how soft he was. Moo walked in front of him and leaned his body against Gally's shins.

"He likes you," Aussie said happily. "That's a relief."

"Why's that?" Gally asked absentmindedly as he rubbed the dogs back. 

Aussie paused like she was embarrassed to say. 

"Oh, he's just finicky. He'll bark at the people he doesn't like," she fibbed and he knew it, but it didn't feel like a big terrible secret was being kept from him so he didn't press. 

"Aussie!" Someone snapped. "What are you doing with Moo? He's supposed to be working!"

A girl was standing in the field with the sheep, she did not look happy, nor did she look all that much like a girl. She was short and wide and square shaped with a round head made to look rounder with her hair sheered close to her scalp. 

"Sorry!" Aussie called back to her. 

"You already got a dog, play with that one," she yelled and pointed at Gally. "Don't distract the only useful boy in the garden."

Aussie seemed to shrink a little, her bottom lip slowly getting sucked into her mouth. Moo licked her hand before turning to bark at the other girl. 

"Moo," Aussie snapped her fingers to get his attention. "Go to work, go!"

She pointed off toward the sheep and Moo just wagged his tail. 

"Come on, you know what I'm saying you ding dong, go to work!" 

Finally Moo spun around and took off, herding the sheep closer together. When he got close to the other girl he took a nip at her ankles before running off again, earning a string of swear words from the square girl. 

Gally thought maybe Moo didn't like mean people. 

"Well that's Moo," Aussie said plainly. "He might come scratch on your door some nights, I let him sleep with me when he likes."

She began leading him toward the opening to the maze again and he couldn't hold his question in any longer. 

"So..." he began carefully. "What is it about the maze that..."

"Kills you?" She supplied. 

"Yeah," he agreed immediately, glad he didn't have find a way to say it and not make her cry again. 

"Well," she began to talk more quietly and slowed down a little. "I'm not supposed to tell the Newbies this, especially not on their first day, but I figure we owe you. Plus, I find all the secrecy just tempts the Newbies with too much curiosity."

Gally walked a little closer, his head ducked down to hear her better. 

"By all counts it wouldn't make sense, why would you die in a maze? Just hang by the door till morning and come out, right? But, it's not that she died, she was killed."

Gally froze, looking down at her.   
"By who?" He asked. 

"Not a who, a what," Aussie supplied. "There are ... things out there at night, occasionally during the day too, and they- uh.. well... eat people."

Gally looked down at Aussie in absolute horror. He didn't doubt her honesty, and that made it more terrifying. 

Where the hell was he?


	5. Catastrophe

"Listen, I don't mean to scare you- you'll be safe, like I said, it happened just the one time," Aussie scrambled to say when she saw the freaked out look on his face. "But I think it's only fair to tell you the truth, you're in one of the most jacked up places in the world, my dude."

He slightly tilted his head when she called him 'my dude'. He remembered the word somehow, but it just seemed odd coming from Aussie in the middle of all this. She walked this line of realism and optimism, swaying violently on either side of it as the moment struck her. But somehow it came off as comforting. 

"Have you ever seen the-the things?" He asked her. 

She gave him a doubtful look with a little chuckle thrown in. 

"You think they let me into the maze? I'm an under weight asthmatic with dehydration issues, I don't go past the first corridor in the maze," she laughed. "Only the strongest and fastest and smartest and bravest go deep in the maze. You basically gotta be good at everything."

"What are you then?" He asked her. 

"Like, what's my job here?" She asked, her features almost wincing. 

"Yeah," he nodded, wondering why this was a touchy subject. 

She sighed.   
"I dunno if you remember Thena calling me 'Mom', but basically I just just take care of all the Newbies that come up till they adjust. And when they go off I do any odd job, mostly things the other girls deem nonessential," her voice dropped a few octaves and showed her contempt for the word. 

Gally almost chuckled.   
"Like what?" He asked. He wasn't sure why he kept pressing her to talk, but knew he'd keep doing it. 

"Oh," she seemed to shy away again. "Mend clothes and bedding, put fresh coats of paint on things, basically anything that makes an already functioning thing look better. But I do actually useful things too, I do laundry and some of the cooking... gardening-"

"Toppling governments to save boys from pits?" He interrupted because she was shrinking again. 

Her shoulders had been folding and her face was downcast as she listed off all the mundane things she did. She seemed to be saying she was the farthest thing from the idolized runners and, if that square shaped girl was any indication, no one really held her in high esteem. 

Part of Gally realized that it made sense, the strongest and smartest were the most useful to solve the problem of the maze and any less could be considered dead weight. But he didn't like that either. So far in his experience here, Aussie was the only one with a heart. And, yeah, that probably isn't enough to solve a maze full of girl eating monsters, but it's the reason he wasn't still stuck in a pit. 

Aussie looked up at him, surprise in her eyes as her little body unfolded slightly. It felt completely foreign to him, and he wasn't sure he was even doing it right, but he tried to smile at her. What he thought was a smile was just his brows going slack and the right corner of his mouth going up a little. She seemed to recognize the attempt though, her own eyes softening and a little lopsided grin taking her mouth before she turned away from him. 

"I didn't topple a government, I just... talked some sense into a nervous girl with a lot of responsibility," she said as she got them moving toward the maze again. 

He'd call Thena a mean girl on a power trip, but that was his time in the pit talking. 

"So..." Aussie began, not looking at him as she spoke. "I get the impression you might, possibly, maybe have a temper? Which is fine!"

He looked at the bruise on her neck and felt ashamed. 

"But just so you know, the Garden is our home, we take care of our home. If you want to run off any anger or frustration there's a track around the perimeter. But if you want to do anything... aggressive, like throw and break things, you do that in the entry of the maze. Basically, break their snit not ours."

He swallowed and then nervously licked his lips. 

"Aussie," he used her name for the first time, causing her to actually look up at him. "I'm not ever going to hurt you again. I-"

"Oh gosh!" She jumped in, waving her hands dismissively. "That's not what I was trying to say at all! I wasn't even thinking of that, sorry."

He was baffled why she was apologizing to him right now. 

"I just meant," she started to clarify. "That this place frustrates everyone at some point. We've all been there. Even I have thrown rocks and junk at the wall and screamed and cursed."

She stopped and faced him, her hand reaching for his arm but stopping just short of it. 

"Listen, Gally," she used his name too. "I will never tell you not to feel a feeling. Most girls roll their eyes at me when I tell them that, so I imagine it's even more cringey to you, but this is actually really important if you want to stay sane here. Give yourself ten minutes to really feel a feeling. If you're angry, be angry. If you're sad, be sad- you know, whatever. But when that time is up, try to look at the bright side, and if you can't find one of those then find something useful to do. Because if you bottle things up and don't let yourself feel, you'll lose it here."

He did have a vaguely awkward feeling about what she'd told him and the words 'after school special' came to mind. How he knew that was beyond him. However he recalled something she mentioned earlier, how a girl had killed herself. Her hands still hovered in the air in front of him like she really wanted to hold him by the shoulders to make a point, and her blue eyes pierced his with a certain intensity. 

"Ok," he found himself nodding. "But just for the record... I am sorry for hurting you."

Her lips pursed together in a pleased little smile, her intensity meter going way down as her hands folded in front of her. 

"Thank you for the apology," she stated. "I appreciate it, but you have nothing to apologize for." 

She turned and they, yet again, started moving. 

"Nothing to apologize for?" He repeated. "I put a 360 hand shaped bruise around your little bird neck- I think I do need to apologize."

Her head tipped back and the clearing filled with her laughter. It wasn't what he thought her laugh would sound like, even though it was still a little scratchy, it was deep and bubbly and definitely worth hearing again.

"Oh, stop it," she said good-naturedly as she swatted at him, missing on purpose so she wouldn't break the rules. "I've survived this place for three years, getting jumped by a newbie is nothing." 

They were very close to the opening of the maze now, three girls passing them as they jogged the perimeter. He recognized one as Joan. She stopped, huffing and red in the face and greeted them. 

"He wanted to see the maze first?" Joan asked Aussie, still sucking wind. "I bet Talia he'd go for the house first."

"There's a house?" Gally blurted, craning his neck to look for one. How'd he miss it?

"Oh, god," Joan breathed, palms on her knees. 

"Well," Aussie mused. "Technically he asked for the latrines first. Did anyone bet on that?"

Joan stood straight and thought a minute. 

"No, I don't think they did," she seemed pleased. 

"Where's the house?" Gally interrupted. 

"Kitchen, trees, house," Aussie pointed out, Gally bending down to try and find her line of sight. 

He'd missed it for sure. 

"Want some company?" Joan asked. 

"Oooh, sure!" Aussie sang before turning to look at Gally. "You lucky duck, you get a tour from a former runner."

Gally looked at Joan surprised.   
"You were a runner?" He repeated. 

Joan gave Aussie a look that was slightly pitying.   
"He's kind of spacey, isn't he?" She asked before turning and addressing him directly. "Yes, I was a runner till my eye got messed up. It's very important you be able to see clearly out there."

At first Gally felt a little embarrassed, but Joan was good natured enough that he didn't take it personal. 

"Well, come on then," Joan motioned for them to follow her as she crossed the threshold of the maze door. 

Somehow it felt quieter once he was inside of the maze, the cold stone walls reaching impossibly high. The only sign of life in there was the ivy clinging to the walls in places. There was a pile of rocks and a basket of bad fruit and veg sitting to the right side of the corridor. Directly across from it, the wall to his left was beat to heck and covered in splattered produce, some old and some new. 

"The Anger Resolution Station," Joan commented, as she gave Aussie a small smile. "ARS, for when you're being an arse."

"Ah, you took my favorite line," Aussie teasingly complained. 

"You got to come up with it, let me have some fun now and then," Joan retorted. 

Aussie smiled, her steps slightly bouncy as she trekked beside Gally. He was confused as to how she was so blasé about being in the maze she claimed had people-eating-monsters in it. He couldn't tell if she was just forgetful or stupid. Which made him wonder about his own state of mind when he realized he was letting them lead him into this place. 

"As you can see," Joan lifted her arms to gesture vaguely at the maze. "It's not all that great. We never find a way out or anything new."

"Really?" Gally cocked his head in confusion. "Then why keep going out in it?"

"Come on, I'll show you," Joan nodded down the corridor to their right as if she was expecting his question. 

He felt more uncomfortable now that he couldn't see the door to the Garden anymore, but if Aussie wasn't scared he sure wasn't going to be. 

Joan stopped and looked up at the left side wall, an oddly shaped growth of ivy clinging there. She motioned for him to come closer. 

"See how the ivy stops growing here?" She asked him. "And see this line in the wall? See that scuff on the ground?"

He looked at these signs and a strange feeling overtook him. He wasn't going to open his mouth and say what he thought because it was just too ridiculous. But his heart plummeted in his chest when Joan confirmed it. 

"Every night," she said pointedly as she leaned her hand against the stone wall. "The whole freaking place changes. The walls move."

Gally took a step back and ran both hands over his face, taking Aussie's fettered hand for a ride. 

"So you have to check every day to see if there's anything new," he supplied as he crossed his arms, Aussie's brushing against his torso as he did so. 

Joan pursed her lips almost angrily as she nodded solemnly. Aussie walked in front of him to stand on his other side now that his arms were crossed. 

"Why?" He threw up his hands in aggravation, causing Aussie to trip forward as his motion yanked hard on her arm. 

Without thinking he reached out and caught her by the shoulders, steadying her in front of him. He quickly took his hands away and glanced at Joan to see what she'd do about him breaking the no touching rule. She looked between the two of them but her expression didn't change. 

"We only have one clue about that," she said before pushing herself off the wall. "Come here."

Oh god, what if she was gonna deck him in the middle of the maze and get him lost for touching Aussie? But she stopped at the next intersection and pointed to a metal plaque mounted on the wall. 

World In Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department

"Cozy, isn't it?" Joan asked with dripping sarcasm and disdain. "Like a friendly little needlework at your grandmas house."

He stared up at the words, his brows raised and his mouth gaping as an icy chill went down his spine. The world was in a catastrophe...and they were in the killzone... as an experiment. 

Peachy. 

"I think we gave him too much," Aussie said to Joan under her breath when Gally stayed still for too long. 

Joan gave a heavy sigh.   
"There's not much we can do to sugar coat it. Today, tomorrow, next week- it doesn't change the facts."

"Gally?" Aussie's voice pulled him out of his stupor and he locked eyes with her. "You doing ok?"

He just stared at her, searching her face as he also searched his brain for an answer. He knew what he felt and he hated it, hated it. 

He was afraid. 

So he tried to think instead. He couldn't remember a catastrophe happening. Something in his mind knew there was such a thing as natural disasters and nuclear explosions but none that he could remember specifically. 

"Gally," Aussie said again, seeming more concerned. "Are you ok?"

He took a deep shaky breath. 

"What catastrophe?" He finally asked. 

Aussie's face turned apologetic again.   
"No one remembers," she answered. 

"We don't even know if there really was one," Joan offered that lovely addition to his distress. 

"Why- why else would they do this?" He gestured to the maze and looked around it. 

"Yeah, what kind of catastrophe would warrant putting a bunch of girls in an unsolvable maze with murderous creatures?" Joan spouted. "They could be trying to cover up the fact they're a bunch of sadists getting off on watching us suffer."

"Ok!" Aussie jumped in between them. "The facts are bad enough, we don't have to add dismal speculation to it too."

She turned and stared up at Gally's pale face, his breathing was quick and unsteady like he'd been running. She worried he might have a panic attack. 

"Gally, Gally. Look at me," she kept her face relaxed. "You're fine, ok? Just take a deep breath and let it out slow."

She stood a certain way, between him and Joan, and he felt her fingers graze his hand. His eyes locked onto hers and he instinctively latched onto her hand. She took a deep breath and so did he. 

"It's gonna be ok, Gally," she assured him and he actually felt a bit better. 

"For a big guy he's not-"

"Shut. Up. Joan," Aussie interrupted sharply, not breaking the gaze she shared with Gally. "It's a lot to take in in such a short amount of time, I know. It's hard, but you can do it."

She squeezed his hand. Something inside of him relaxed, his fear subsiding a bit. There was a new feeling, small and still taking shape, as he looked at the girl who didn't know him a bit but kept throwing kindness at him hoping it would stick. And suddenly what he hated was that someone like her ended up here. 

His breathing was even now, so Aussie slipped her hand out of his and took a step back, a blush dusting her cheeks. She knew the rule, no touching unless necessary, but she felt it was necessary. The problem was no one else would understand why. 

"Sorry, Newbie," Joan sounded genuine. "I shouldn't be so rough with ya. That's why Aussie's in charge of this stuff. She always knows what to say."

"I wish," Aussie muttered after blowing a raspberry, her goofiness taking the edge off of things. 

Gally blinked a few times as he looked at her, realizing that Joan was absolutely right, Aussie handled everything like a champ. 

"Had enough of the maze?" She asked him. 

Before he could answer, a resounding yes, they heard a faint and far off noise but still recognized it immediately. They all tensed and turned toward the maze before them. 

Hearing a scream is bad enough, especially when it's one of pure, feral terror. But their blood turned to ice in their veins at the sound that answered back. It was feral alright, because it was definitely not human. 

Joan swiveled sharply on her heel back to them, her face pale and her normally tough expression broken into a widened fearful look. 

"Run," she said, her voice not matching the urgency in her eyes at first. "Run!"

Gally and Aussie turned on their heels as well, ready to peel out of there, but the rope caused a problem, their arms stretched across themselves. They ran on despite this, Gally having to go much slower than he would like because of Aussie. Then he felt a sharp tug before his arm swung to its proper side, the rope empty at the end. Aussie had freed him. Joan had passed them and was waiting at the corner, urging them on. Gally looked back to Aussie running as fast as she could but falling behind nonetheless. 

"Go, Gally!" She yelled, waving him on. "Just go!"

His feet skidded on the stone floor as he quickly reversed his momentum. Despite the icy prickles of terror clawing at every inch of skin, he went back. He ducked his body low and grabbed Aussie over his shoulder. After securing her and straightening up he dared not look at the maze, but took off running as fast as he could, Aussie's little hands clutching the back of his shirt. He reached Joan at the corner and they headed down the main corridor together. Despite his visceral terror, he noticed that Joan was not slowing to match his pace, but that he was matching her top speed even with Aussie. 

"Guards!" Joan called out when they were close enough to the gate and the few girls standing close by. 

When they got to the threshold, Joan skidded to a halt and turned back to the maze as the rest of the guards joined her, one tossing her an extra spear. Gally, on the other hand, did not stop. He carried Aussie across the field and toward the house and god help anyone who tried to stop him. 

"Girls, get to the house! Get to the house!" Aussie called out like a mobile alarm, the girls in the field and garden following Gally now. 

He saw Gertie at the open door, standing to the side and ushering them all in. He almost slipped when his feet hit the wood floor, his eyes landing on a flight of stairs to his right and trying to redirect his momentum toward them. 

Aussie was calling his name as his calves burned from taking the stairs three at a time, but he wasn't going to stop till he got Aussie as far from the maze as he could. He didn't stop till he got to the very back of the house and shut the door behind him. He only now realized how hard he was breathing, each one clawing at his throat and burning his lungs. His legs shook as he bent over to set Aussie on her feet, losing his balance after being rid of the weight he was now used to. He stumbled forward but caught himself on the wall behind her, his forehead brushing the top of her shoulder and he decided to let it rest there as he caught his breath. 

She didn't say anything and she didn't move, she just tried to catch her own breath too as she leaned back against the cool wall. She couldn't believe what Gally had just done. She reached up and put her arm around him, patting his hot and sweaty back as the sound of girls feet pounding through the house echoed around them. Suddenly one of his knees buckled and he started to go down. 

"Whoa!" Aussie grunted as she tried to support him, but he was far too heavy and took her down with him. 

She managed to slow his decent a little bit and get her hand between his head and the floor to cushion it. This put her directly on top of him, her knees by his waist, one hand propping her up and other under his head. Of course this is when Gertie burst through the door. 

"Gertie!" Aussie cried in her cracked voice, looking up from Gally's flushed but lifeless face. "Help me!"


	6. Blame

Gally slowly came to, feeling a cool, damp cloth on this forehead and neck. There was a pillow under his head but he felt like he was still laying on the floor. His eyes finally fluttered open and he saw Gertie bent over him with a look of mild concern that cleared up when she saw he was awake. 

"Hey! Our super hero lives!" She cheered. 

He looked at her, confused at what she said and confused why Aussie wasn't there. He tried to sit up to look for her but Gertie firmly pressed her hand to his sternum, halting his movement. His muscles shook and ached but he didn't relax, he had to see she was ok. 

"Just chill for a second, you're dehydrated," Gertie pushed on him to no avail, he continued to get up. 

"If you're worried about Aussie, don't be," Gertie told him, grunting with the effort of trying to contain him. 

He was on his feet now and they screamed in pain, something in the back of his right leg was tight and painful. He stepped toward the door even with Gertie using all her weight to push against his chest. Once he had the door open she grabbed his elbow and leaned back, but he just kept moving, dragging the girl along with him like she was nothing. He wouldn't lay a hand on her to stop her, she probably had a job to do and felt it was necessary to try and stop him, but he wasn't sure what he was doing was necessary. 

He drug Gertie down the entire hallway despite her hushed protests that he should lie down and Aussie was fine. He got to the top of the stairs and went to take a step down, voices trailing up from the first level, and that's when Gertie braced herself with a foot on the banister and gave him a firm tug. It threw his balance off and the sharp pain up his leg caused him to stumble to the floor. 

"Just sit here for a second, you stubborn snit," Gertie flicked his ear as she sat beside him on the top stair. "And be quiet."

He sighed and leaned against the wall, his head pounding, annoyed with everything at the moment. Gertie lightly hit his arm and pointed through the banister. He looked down and could see a large room completely crowded with girls. In the center was Aussie, her arms wrapped around a girl who was quietly sobbing. She stroked her hair and gently rocked her. 

"That's the girl who saw it," Gertie whispered to him. 

He flashed her a disbelieving look.   
"She's alive?" He whispered back. 

"You see her don't you?" Gertie came back sarcastically. "She came out completely hysterical and needed Aussie a little more than you did at the moment."

"Is she ok?" Gally asked after giving the little girl a sideways glare. 

"She's hysterical-" she began to repeat but Gally cut in. 

"I mean Aussie," he clarified. 

She turned and gave him a funny look.   
"Physically she's fine, thanks to you. Emotionally, not so much, also thanks to you and your dramatic arse. She was on top of you crying when I finally caught up to you- you should have seen yourself leaping up the stairs, it was downright inhuman. I had no clue what you were doing with Aussie over your shoulder screaming your name, everyone else panicking-"

Gertie kept rambling on but Gally couldn't follow her anymore, his head hurt too much. He rested his elbows on his knees and cradled his throbbing head in hands. What had he been thinking?

"Hey," Gertie was nudging him with her knee, ignoring the rule as much as he and Aussie did. "So what happened out there?"  
He stared straight ahead for a moment, eyes squinting as he tried to remember it clearly. 

"They were showing me the sign, World in catastrophe - killzone experiment whatever," he started in a hushed tone. His deep voice still carried and a few girls near the stairs looked up at them. "And then there was a scream- a terrible scream. And then there was an even worse scream. Joan told us to run... Aussie took the rope off her hand and told me run."

Gertie gave a long suffering look at the girl in the other room. 

"Let me guess," Gertie chimed in. "You couldn't leave her self sacrificing, perpetually optimistic skinny buns behind?"

Gally paused and swallowed, not sure he wanted to admit to all of that yet, but. "Yeah, that sounds about right," he nodded. 

"Someone said you never looked back, just kept running till you got here," Gertie stated, no implications in her tone but a question in her eyes. 

Gally looked down, ashamed again for being so afraid of that place. His jaw clenched. 

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Gertie supplied with a kindness to her voice he hadn't heard before. "This place scares the crap out of all of us, I think it was made to."

"I don't know much about myself, but apparently I'm a coward. That sucks," he stated as his eyes started to burn. 

He felt a flick on his ear again. 

"Oh zip it," Gertie hissed, back to her usual ways. "A coward would have left Aussie behind, thankful she'd be back there to slow whatever it was down. So shut your pie hole about that."

That was a terrible thought that had definitely not crossed his mind. In a small way that was a relief. They sat in silence for a moment, the girls sobs less frequent now. 

"What's going on outside?" He asked Gertie, both of them staring at Aussie and the runner in the other room. 

"Guards are watching the door till it closes tonight, make sure nothing goes in or out," she whispered back. "The rest of us are supposed to stay in here till then. Lanie- I dunno if you remember her- but she's the only one allowed out of the house and only to take food and water to the guards."

The front door opened quietly then and Lanie herself slipped back into the house looking ashy and out of it. The two girls who had been listening to Gally and Gertie went up to her, quietly asking what was going on outside. Lanie's eyes landed on Gertie and Gally at the top of the stairs and she silently and carefully made her way up to them. The other two girls followed at a distance, wanting to hear as well. 

"I need to talk to you- both of you," Lanie said, causing Gally and Gertie to share a cautious glance. 

"K, come on," Gertie motioned toward the back of the house as she got up from the steps. 

Lanie slipped by Gally who stayed there a moment, looking down at Aussie. All the motion on the stairs had caused her to look that direction and her eyes locked with Gally's. He couldn't really read her expression as she shushed the girl in her arms, smoothing her hair. Finally he had to get up, most of his muscles protesting it, and limp after Gertie and Lanie. 

Gertie closed the door behind him and he immediately sunk himself into an old chair. Now that he had the time and headspace to think about it, the house was really odd. It seemed to be well cared for, dusted and swept, but also significantly aged and just generally crunchy around the edges. He had the feeling the furniture was decidedly antique. There were tables and lamps and beds, but no art on the walls, nothing to give away what the outside world might be like. 

"Alright, what's up?" Gertie pressed Lanie who was pacing and wringing her hands, dirt visible under her nails. 

"I dunno if I should say anything, Thena might get mad at me," Lanie seemed doubtful now. 

"Oh, get on with it," Gertie snapped with a bit of exhaustion, as though Lanie was usually like this. 

"Ok, fine," Lanie gave a slight pout before turning to Gally. "Thena thinks you had something to do with what happened today and she's coming for you as soon as the doors close tonight."

Gally's heart plummeted. His mouth fell open but the protest died on his lips. 

"Well that's ridiculous," Gertie snorted dismissively, giving a tiny glimmer of hope to Gally. 

"No, I know," Lanie agreed as well. "I talked to Joan and heard her arguing with Thena. She's telling all the guards you didn't do a thing out there, didn't even touch the walls."

He was surprised and grateful for Joan, Gertie, and Lanie readily taking his side. And without having to come to his own defense and offer an explanation. He just sat there with an exhausted rage boiling inside about how insane Thena was. 

"I just thought you should know so you can be ready for it," Lanie said to him. "Joan is planning to defend you. I'll stand up for you as well."

"Same here," Gertie seconded. "And you know Aussie will too."

He wasn't sure what any of that meant, but it seemed reassuring. 

"What makes Thena think I had something to do with it?" He asked Lanie, trying to keep his voice even and low so the girls down stairs wouldn't hear. 

Lanie was shaking her head like it was the most foolish thing. 

"Just because it happened right after you showed up," she gave a humorless laugh. "She doesn't think it can be a coincidence."

A small part of him realized it was suspicious, but he agreed with the two girls, it was ridiculous. His fists clenched and he tried to calm down the anger he was feeling, knowing he couldn't put a hole in a wall or scream because of what was going on downstairs. How on earth could anyone believe he'd do something so terrible? He was terrified of this place but he couldn't admit it, he was too ashamed of himself. The thought of being banished to the maze made him sick to his stomach now. 

"Hey man, you don't look so good," Gertie said, appearing by his side and pulling him from his thoughts. "You need to drink some water and lay down."

He looked at her doubtfully. 

"Don't worry," she said in an almost playfully annoyed voiced. "You have hours before the doors close and a whole team of girls on the case for you."

Lanie went to the closet in the room and came back with a metal container of water, handing it to him. 

"Yeah, we'll take care of it," She agreed. "We'll get ahead of it by talking to the girls in the house before Thena comes. We'll tell them what Joan said."

"Anything else you think they should know?" Gertie asked him. 

He shrugged and rolled his eyes.   
"Thena's logic is just so absurd I can't even think about it," he began. "Why would I want to hurt anyone?"

"'Cause we were jerks to you when you first got here?" Gertie supplied with a raised brow. 

"Even so- why would I do it when I'm in the maze and with the girl who got me out of the pit no less?"

He wasn't sure why he kept lumping Aussie into everything but she was a big part his experiences so far. 

There was a soft knock on the door and he leaned forward as Gertie opened it, wondering if it was Aussie herself or some more bad news. He felt relieved when it turned out to be the first. Aussie came in with an exhausted look and red eyes, her shirt was wet and wrinkled and misshapen from the girls tears and clutching hands. 

"How is she?" Gertie and Lanie asked first. 

"Cried herself to sleep," Aussie said as she looked at Gally. "You ok?"

He shrugged honestly, but he felt better now that she was there. 

"Did she say what it looked like?" Gertie asked. 

Aussie's eyes finally left his as she gave the shorter girl a small glare. Her nostrils flared as she took a breath, her expression calming down after it. 

"No, Gertie," she began with a very controlled tone. "She didn't say much at all. Her only words were pretty much 'it was horrible' and 'we're all gonna die'."

She turned to Lanie after that.   
"What's going on out there now?"

"There's still faint noises but nothing has shown itself yet. But we have another problem," Lanie said, glancing at Gally. 

Aussie's eyes filled with worry as she strode across the room, her hands gripping the chair instead of him as she looked over him. 

"What's the matter?" She asked. 

"Thena thinks he had something to do with today," Lanie supplied before he could open his tired mouth. 

Aussie straightened up and spun around. 

"What?!"

Lanie and Gertie stepped toward her with their hands up, talking over each other with assurances that they knew he wasn't and Joan was on it and blah blah blah. Gally wanted to go to sleep. 

Aussie paced in front of him, her hands covering her face and a small irritated noise coming from the back of her throat. She wasn't big or small, she just looked broken. She looked at him and her expression changed from aggravation to concern. 

"Gally," she said stopping in front of him. "Gertie, he does not look ok."

"Yeah," Gertie agreed. "Let's see if we can get him onto the bed before he passes out this time. Doctors orders, it's necessary to touch the patient."

Gertie and Aussie came up on either side of him as the edges of his vision began to go fuzzy. He felt little hands grab his wrists and lift his heavy arms, draping them over petite shoulders. They pulled him forward in the chair and wrapped their arms around his back. Aussie's voice reached him, her breath tickling his ear. 

"Help us out a little bit Gally," she said softly. "Let's get you over onto the bed, ok? 1,2,3."

On three they lifted and he did his best to stand. They turned him and eased him down on the bed. Lanie had stacked extra pillows to prop him up. 

"I'll go get an IV from down stairs," Gertie said before leaving the room. 

"Lanie, get his legs," Aussie instructed the other girl. 

Together they carefully laid him out on the bed, Aussie having to expertly squirm her arm out from underneath him. His face somehow looked peaceful and his full lips were slightly parted. Aussie stopped staring at his face and went down to the end of the bed with Lanie, each of them untying one of his shoes and slipping them off, placing them beside the bed. 

"I'll go talk to some of the girls," Lanie said quietly. 

Aussie just nodded as she stared at Gally and Lanie slipped quietly out of the room. Aussie's heart ached just looking at him, and before she knew it, she had come around and sat on the edge of the bed. He'd been treated unfairly since the moment he got there and he hadn't done a single thing wrong. He was nothing but sweet to her, how he came back and scooped her up despite how obviously terrified he was.

"Well, I guess I've been officially manhandled for the first time," she lightly chuckled. "As far as I know, at least."

She noticed a small constellation of freckles near the Cupid's bow of his lip, and her fingers reached out to lightly graze his cheek. Rules be damned. 

"Thanks, sweetheart," she whispered. 

Her hand quickly retracted when she heard Gertie's footsteps closing in, the girl huffing into the room awkwardly as she carried a long pole and a hastily packed bag of supplies. 

"Oh, don't mind me," Gertie breathed as she dropped things by his bedside. "Just trying to save your new boyfriends life here is all."

Aussie rolled her eyes with a hint of a grin before getting up and coming to her aid.   
"He is not," she barely argued, part of her shamefully thrilled at the idea. 

Gertie gave an abnormally deep and almost dirty chuckle to that.   
"Try telling him that," laughter lacing her voice. "He literally is insane for you. Come on, that rescue? Plus when he came to and you weren't in the room, he just got up and went to find you, dragging me through half the house to do it."

Aussie bit her bottom lip and tried not to smile. But she learned something about herself just then. As much as her little pink heart loved to daydream of a world where she could fall in love, it now revealed it was a bit insecure when actually faced with the possibility. Surely there were plenty of girls he would like better than her. Surely she was not special to him after just a day. Really, how could she hope that the first boy to arrive would pick her over everyone else? 

She shook those thoughts out of her head though. There were bigger, more important things going on. They were still trapped in a maze and after 3 years things were changing. Things had to be done, things that mattered a little more than ooey gooey feelings. She had a traumatized girl to deal with, and Gally's character to defend. Suddenly she felt very tired. 

She quietly helped Gertie set up the IV for Gally and once they were both satisfied that he'd be resting safe and comfortable, Aussie said she was going to go rest in another room and do some brainstorming for later. Gertie surprised her by pulling her into a hug. 

"It's been a rough day," Gertie said, patting her back. "You're doing good."

"You too," Aussie murmured, confused about where this was coming from but not complaining. It was quite nice. 

She found her favorite room, the one with the pale pink walls and yellowed lace curtains, and flopped on the bed. She pulled the pen and paper from the drawer in the bedside table for easy access, but she didn't start thinking or writing yet. She heaved a sigh and looked at her watch, set the timer for ten minutes, and let herself feel a feeling.


	7. Discovery

*Note* the last third of this chapter has been changed, please re-read it. 

Aussie often felt that she might have a mental problem as it seemed to her like there were two people living in her mind. She could swear you were just supposed to have one and, frankly, she was afraid to ask. One half of her mind was optimistic and positive, quite reactionary and prone to whimsy. The other half was a bit more clinical and logical, usually showing up to squash the other half's whimsy. Normal or not, it felt very weird being able to argue with herself. 

Aussie laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling, preparing for her brain to begin the debate. It was very difficult for her to do, after all, impartiality is quite difficult for those who are ruled by their hearts. But she tried her best to take her anger at Thena and put it in a box, place the lid on tightly, and push it away. What was harder to do was the very same thing, but with Gally and her conviction that he was completely innocent. Her natural inclination was to start with Gally's innocence, so she fought it and forced herself to think of things from Thena's perspective first. 

For three years things had run on a tight and predictable schedule. Supplies, Newbies, all girls, few major incidents. But now- now they had a boy and a major incident. To be fair... that didn't feel like a coincidence.

The logical side had presented its case and yielded the floor to The Devil's Advocate. She had been with Gally all day and, unless he managed to do something from the latrine, she could attest to the fact he didn't do anything to have caused today's events. 

Besides, if there was a way to control the maze from the Garden, wouldn't they have found it by now? No, the truth was no one in the Garden had control over anything. They didn't decide when the supplies would come or what they would get for sure, and they had no control over the Newbies either. This place was controlled by the makers, they sent the supplies they chose, the girls they chose, on the days they chose. So they must have chosen to do this as well. 

Aussie's eyes widened. A thought had popped into her head, one that she thought was too clever to have come from her own mind. She had to ask someone first, and she wished she could talk to Joan. A runner would be preferable, those girls not only knew the maze but they were smart as whips in ways Aussie couldn't even comprehend. But the majority of girls here were semi genius if not full blown savants, surely there was someone in this very house who could help her, but who?

Georgia! Aussie flew off the bed, tripping herself as she lunged for the door. As she sped down the hallway she wondered if maybe she was just really slow in coming up with her idea and maybe every other girl had thought of it already. 

"Obviously, Aussie," she imagined them saying to her with an exasperated eye roll. 

That's why she wanted to talk to Georgia. Georgia was just plain mean, it was impossible to take it personal from someone who hated everyone equally, but she was also wicked smart. So, despite the anxiety sitting in her chest like a stone and the hope that was tied to it like a balloon, Aussie looked for her. She poked her head in a few rooms and asked some girls if they'd seen her, many girls giving her weird looks as if to say 'why the heck would you want to talk to her?' But finally someone told her they'd seen Georgia go down to the basement. Aussie's blood ran cold when she heard that, memories of the basement coming back to her like cold fingers up her spine. 

Gertie had come downstairs after tending to the still unconscious Gally, and noticed Aussie standing in front of the basement door, her fists clenched. Gertie halted mid-step, curious as to what was going on. She turned on her heel and came up behind the older girl. 

"Whatchya doin?" She asked, making Aussie jump out of her skin. 

She turned to look at her and she saw that Aussie looked to be on the verge of tears. 

"Do you know if Georgia is in the basement?" Aussie asked. 

Gertie wrinkled her nose.  
"What the heck do you want with Georgia?"

"Please, it's important," Aussie persisted. 

"Alright, I'll check."

Aussie stepped back and let Gertie open the basement door. 

"Georgia! You down there?" Gertie hollered down the stairs. 

"Ah, what do you want?" An annoyed voice responded. 

"Aussie needs to talk to you, can you come up?" Gertie called, knowing Aussie wasn't stepping foot down there. 

There was an exasperated groan and then heavy footfalls approached, Georgia appearing at the bottom of the stairs, her baggy shorts hovering around her calves. 

"What does the cream puff want?" She asked as she trudged up the steps. 

"I need to ask you something," Aussie spoke up. "You know, so you can tell me if I'm slow or stupid."

"Or both," Georgia added as she appeared at the top. 

Aussie just gave her a blank look before nodding over her shoulder for Georgia to follow her, Gertie tagging along as well. They found an empty room and Georgia plopped down in a seat and got comfy, resting a thick ankle on her knee and staring up at Aussie with her harsh features. 

"Alright, so my thought was this," Aussie began. "For three years we haven't seen one of the things from the maze until today. And while I was thinking how it was impossible for Gally to have done anything to make that happen, I started thinking about the Makers."

Georgia faked a yawn. 

"They control the box- the supplies and the Newbies, they control everything, right?" Aussie went on, unbothered by the bored look on Georgia's face. 

"Look, if you're trying to convince me that big, dumb boy toy of yours didn't do anything, Lanie already talked to me and I agree-"

"No, no, no," Aussie waved her hands and quickly shushed her, surprising Georgia. "That's not what I'm trying to say."

Gertie's brows furrowed, wondering what Aussie was on to now. 

"If the makers control the maze," Aussie began slowly, her hands out in front of her as if holding a box. "And we're seeing a creature for the first time in there, could that mean... something new opened up?"

The two girls just stared at her in silence, their eyes slightly widened. Aussie sighed as her hands fell to her sides, lightly slapping her thighs. 

"I'm just slow, aren't I?" She finally concluded. 

"No," Georgia piped up immediately, the lack of snark in her tone coming as a huge surprise to the two other girls. "That's brilliant."

Gertie agreed, but was so shocked she could only join Aussie in staring down at the usually grumpy and condescending girl with baffled expressions. 

"That makes sense," Georgia went on. "If that thing was out there it had to come from somewhere. There could be something new opened up out there."

Aussie and Gertie shared a glance before Aussie went on with the rest of her thought, the part she had not figured out yet. 

"Ok, so here's the part I don't get," Aussie rubbed her face, her voice slightly muffled. "That thing is loose out there and there's no reason to think it couldn't find its way here to the gate- to the Garden."

"Yeah, I wanted to bop Wilma for running straight back here, it could have followed her," Georgia agreed. 

"Right! So why didn't it?" Aussie questioned. "But more than that, why would the Makers do this? If it came in here and just obliterated us all, what good would that do? What would they get out of that? They bring us here, sustain us living here for three years, keep sending us more girls for what- to unleash monsters on us? Watch us all die? Why do that? Why make a huge maze and let us run around in it for three years just to-"

Aussie was caught in a spiral of asking the same basic question over and over and Georgia patiently put up a hand and interrupted. 

"You're right," she said, surprising Aussie and Gertie again. "It didn't follow Wilma here when it could have, it hasn't come and killed us all when it could have. So, that must not be their plan."

Aussie was a little surprised by the simplicity of that, how obvious it was. She'd come up with it and not even realized what it meant. 

"It must be a test," Georgia decided. "The monsters are a test for the runners. There's the possibility of a new opening, maybe a way out, but is their desire to get out greater than their fear? How determined are we to get out of here? It's like the carrot and the stick except the stick is between us and the carrot."

Aussie almost staggered backward as if Georgia's words had reached out and pushed her. 

"Do-" Aussie was scared to ask her next question. "Do you think the stick will- Uh... get closer the longer we avoid the carrot?"

Georgia looked down in thought, her face becoming ashy grey, and slowly nodded.  
"Unfortunately that makes sense too. They're gonna start pushing us to do more. And since we rely on them completely to sustain our lives... it'll be really easy for them. They can literally give us two options, fight or die."

"Holy snit," Aussie mumbled under her breath as she ran a hand over her hair. "That's why the maze- it wasn't to test our intelligence, was it? It's all been psychological, to test our determination?"

Georgia nodded. "Seems that way."

Gertie took her hands away from her mouth.  
"We gotta talk to Thena and tell everyone," she said calmly even thought that's not what she felt. "If we do it right maybe they won't freak out so bad- maybe they won't lose their determination."

"We might be too late," Georgia admitted. "They traumatized Wilma already, everyone saw her freaking out and that might have them convinced it's too risky to go out there anymore. If she starts talking..."

"She could scare everyone out of running," Gertie finished, a defeated look crossing her face and she sunk down to the floor. 

Aussie was pacing, one hand on her hip, the other pressed to her forehead, trying to think of what could be done. 

"You could do it, Aussie," Georgia's voice was soft and sincere, causing both girls to come out of their stupors and look at her. "If you talk to them it'll work. You have a connection with every girl here and you're the one who figured this out, that has to mean something. The only problem is Thena. She's out there thinking all the wrong things- as far as we know at least. She's trying to blame these changes on Gally, I bet she thinks we can go back to normal if we get rid of him."

Aussie's heart clenched at the thought. She wouldn't let that happen. 

Georgia stood up to look Aussie square in the eyes.  
"I think you're right about these changes, they're not going to stop. If Thena can't accept that, she shouldn't be leading us anymore. She could get us all killed if she ignores the facts like she's been doing. You should be in charge."

Aussie reeled back like Georgia just socked her in the nose. Even Gertie popped back up from her fetal crouch to look at her like she was a bit touched in the head. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Aussie put her hands up. "I do not want to be in charge! That's not what I'm trying to do here!"

"I know, I know," Georgia assured her. "You have zero strategy skills and even less ambition."

Her regular personality was starting to show again but it was softer around the edges, as if she'd just complimented Aussie. She lightly shook her head as she looked at her. 

"There are no coincidences here," she stated. "Hell, the only choices we have are the ones they give us. They created a situation where faulty leadership is exposed and we either have to change it... or die."

Aussie's eyes widened before she suddenly blew a raspberry, making the two other girls flinch. "No pressure though, right?"

Aussie was shaking and breathing irregularly now as the anxiety settled in her bones. She couldn't believe her stupid idea about the maze had led to this crazy notion that she could and should pull some kind of coup. She was supposed to take Thena's place? She didn't doubt that Thena would physically harm her for trying, and that was the most terrifying realization she'd had all day. 

"At least you have some practice under your belt already," Georgia pointed out in an oddly helpful kind of way. 

Aussie just looked at her, confused, earning incredulous looks from her and Gertie. It was disconcerting to see them in synch with each other like that. 

"The boy!"  
"You totally defied her and won!"  
"You got everyone on your side this morning, you were fearless!"  
"Yeah, you've already got the ball rolling on usurping Thena, honestly."

The two girls sentences ran together and over top of each other as they started exuding more confidence about the whole situation. Aussie's eyes ping ponged between the two of them until they finally shut their mouths and looked at her. She let out a shaky sigh. 

"Ah snit," she said so quietly. "No coincidences.."

After telling them she was going back to lay down for a while and process all this, Aussie left. Gertie figured she should check on her patient and turned to go as well, but Georgia caught her arm. 

"He's the catalyst, you know," she said to Gertie. "He's gotten her this far, he's gotta stick with her for this to work... for any of us to have any hope."

Gertie looked down, the last thing Aussie said reverberating in her head. 

No coincidences.

"Do you think he will?" Georgia finally asked her. 

Gertie's eyes flicked back up to look at her, a sudden calm and confidence settling in.  
"I don't think it's going to be a problem at all."

Georgia nodded, happy with that answer. 

"What about Aussie? She's been here the longest, seen all the snit go down, she'll need a lot of support to be able to keep it together," Georgia pointed out. 

"Then let's give it to her."

Gertie finally got up to Gally's room and flopped in the chair by his bed, a sigh slipping between her lips. What a freaking day. Gally laid there just like she'd left him, blissfully unaware of all their new discoveries. 

"Well," Gertie sighed, flinging her head back as she spoke to the unconscious boy. "You should be happy, you just became old news."

Gertie sat there, resting her eyes for a while and trying to calm her racing thoughts, ignoring the gurgle of hunger from her stomach. She didn't know how long it had been by the time the door opened. She sprang back to life, suddenly worried she might have to defend Gally from Thena trying to murder him in bed, but it was just Aussie. Gertie relaxed into the chair again as Aussie closed the door behind her and went to the opposite side of the bed, collapsing onto the floor so all Gertie could see were her eyes over Gally's chest. 

Aussie just stared at him in silence for several moments and Gertie didn't say anything either. It felt like there wasn't much to say anymore. 

"We should lock him in," Aussie finally said, her voice low and raw, not taking her eyes off him. "And meet Thena outside before she gets to the house. Just to keep him safe."

Gertie allowed a few seconds to pass before she opened her own mouth, surprised she sounded tired too.  
"Do you think that's a good idea? He's like a bull in a china shop."

Aussie quirked her mouth to the side, acknowledging Gertie had a point. 

"We can leave him a note-"

"Can he read?" Gertie cut in, her question actually genuine. 

"God, Gertie," Aussie chastised even though she didn't sound angry. "That's so mean."

Gertie shrugged and a minute passed before Aussie suddenly perked up. 

"Oh, yes he can read!" She said indignantly. "He read the sign in the maze."

Gertie couldn't help but laugh and she couldn't stop it even though it hurt. It was that demented kind of laugh when something isn't actually all that funny but you're just that tired.  
"Did you sit there that whole time wondering if he really could read?" She choked out as Aussie couldn't contain her smile anymore. 

"Shut up," Aussie laughed too now. 

Gertie gave a sigh as she rubbed her face and tried to rake her fingers through her wads of curls. 

"All this crazy stuff happening, you've got to have him almost all to yourself to obsess over," Gertie said, her statement finally getting Aussie to tear her eyes away from Gally to look at her far too innocently. 

"I'm not obsessing o-" Gertie gave her a you aren't fooling me look and the words died on her lips. 

She looked down at her hands in her lap, a little ashamed of herself for Gertie being right. The girl's had been quite distracted, and rightly so, but eventually they could get more comfortable and interested in him. Obviously she couldn't be his only friend, and part of her really wanted him to be able to get along with, and be accepted by everyone. But she also recognized a dark little part of her heart didn't want that at all. 

Finally her eyes looked back up at him, trying to take in all she could about him before things changed. 

"Do you think we'll get more boys?" Aussie asked Gertie. 

"I dunno," she shrugged. 

"Do you think- if we did- they'd all be like Gally?" She ventured, resting her arms on the edge of the bed and her chin on top of her hands. 

"How so?" Gertie asked, earning a quick little glare from Aussie over his sleeping body. 

"Ridiculously incredible," Aussie mumbled mostly to herself, then louder for Gertie she added- "Super tall and strong."

Gertie hummed in thought.  
"I bet he's the only one with eyebrows like that. At least, I hope so."

Aussie tsked disapprovingly but whatever she opened her mouth to say was cut off by the alarm on her watch beeping. The atmosphere in the room changed, the lightheartedness of two girls talking about boys burning off like a mist, and the dark heavy fog of reality took its place. The door was closing in five minutes and Thena would be coming back.


	8. Coup D’etat

(Please note: the previous chapter was heavily edited, please check on it before continuing with this chapter. Thank you.)

Aussie stood under the trees with Gertie, Lanie, and Georgia as the maze door grated across the ground and finally closed with a thud. The garden seemed to collectively sigh with relief, tension releasing as they gained a measure of safety. Nothing was coming through the door now. 

Talking to Thena should have been simple and easy, but Aussie was actually quite worried, so worried she felt sick to her stomach, which wasn't new. Stress and anxiety had made her physically ill before, causing problems with her stomach and she had to be very careful of what she ate and even when. That's why she was so weak and scrawny compared to the other girls. It had gotten so bad that the Makers had sent supplements specifically for her in the supplies, always right on time. In the beginning it served to convince her that someone cared for them, but now she wasn't so sure there was any pleasant sentiment behind it. 

Thena and the guards were trudging toward them, using their spears like walking sticks, the exhaustion clear even at a distance and in the fading light. Joan was walking faster than the others and would reach them first, possibly because she had something to say. Aussie tried to hope for the best, that after all day together, Joan convinced Thena that Gally wasn't responsible after all. 

Joan was breathing a little heavy by the time she reached them ahead of the others. "Where is he? She's gonna kill him," she said quickly and quietly, jarring Aussie tremendously. 

"Passed out again, locked in a room in the house, some of the girls are keeping an eye on the door," Aussie answered clearly despite the fact her heart was pounding like giant jacked up hummingbird. 

"I think I won over at least half the girls, we got your back," Joan managed to say before Thena was within hearing range. 

Aussie could see the fire in Thena's eyes, coupled with what Joan just said it gave Aussie the mental image of an absolute melee going down in a matter of moments. She had to diffuse it as much as she could. What she did next surprised the girls behind her. She took quick strides to meet Thena and flung her arms around her neck, giving her a tight hug. Thena looked surprised too, but didn't move her arms to reciprocate. 

"Are you ok? How're you doing?" Aussie pulled away from Thena and looked around at all the girls, patting the one closest to her on the shoulder. 

"Tired," some of the girls murmured in response. 

"I bet," Aussie agreed. "Thank you for what you did today, I imagine it was really stressful and we all appreciate it."

Georgia nudged Gertie with a satisfied, smug smirk. 

"Lanie, why don't you help them get water and snacks," Aussie suggested. "So they can get to bed. Then we can all talk about things tomorrow after we're rested?"

She purposefully phrased it as a question as she looked at Thena, trying to show she deferred to her and wasn't trying to call the shots. Unfortunately it didn't work. The almost demonic light was back in Thena's eyes as she stared at Aussie. 

"No," she said firmly in a low and even tone. "You're done running things around here, Aussie."

The disdainful way she said her name made Aussie flinch like she'd been flicked on the nose like a naughty puppy. Her shoulders drooped in disappointment that she wasn't diffusing anything. 

"Since I listened to you last night everything has gone wrong," Thena went on, taking a step toward Aussie. "So we're done listening to you. That boy you're so keen on keeping and integrating into our home is nothing but trouble, and I'm gonna do what I have to do to keep everyone safe."

Aussie's already large eyes were opened wide in fear, gleaming like stars in the ever failing light. She didn't want to hear what she felt sure Thena was about to say. 

"Where'd you stash him? It's time he gets gone."

"What do you mean by that, Thena?" Aussie cautiously asked, still clinging to the hope that Thena could be reasoned with. 

"I mean I'm gonna kill your shank of a boyfriend before anything else happens," Thena pronounced the death sentence before sidestepping the shellshocked Aussie and taking strides toward the house. 

Joan intervened, standing silently in her path, she held her spear non threateningly but that could change quickly. Thena wasn't really surprised by this. Aussie caught up and grabbed her arm. 

"Whoa-whoa-wait a second Thena," Aussie tried to keep calm. "You're talking about taking the life of another human being here. That's breaking our first rule- in a Big way I might add! We don't just go around committing murder in here, all punishments are decided at a meeting."

Aussie had felt a panic rising in her and dispensed with niceties and feelings in favor of cold, hard rules and logic. Thena caught onto this, realizing she did need to play by the rules to keep the girls from turning on her. 

"Fine, she snapped. "Let's call a meeting then."

The guards looked tired and annoyed at having to do this now but trudged to grab their seats. Thena lead everyone to the clearing in front of the house this time which made Aussie nervous. The girls guarding Gally's door would have to leave their posts to attend the meeting, but at least his door was locked. 

Torches lit the darkened night, casting menacing shadows in their orange light. It was foreboding to say the least. Aussie felt like it was some alternate reality playing out in front of her that she was merely watching. She was snapped out of that thought soon enough. 

"I bring punishment charges against the newbie, Gally," Thena said, loud and clear. "Who will defend him?"

Aussie stood up immediately, facing Thena with a steel gaze as she walked up and stood beside her. This is how it went, a debate where the accuser spoke first and then the defender. Aussie couldn't care less what garbage Thena spewed at this point, she was confident she could find the right words to convince everyone Gally should live. 

Thena went on and on, her voice loud and crackling like the fire. She presented no evidence or proof, just loud opinions and vague assumptions. Aussie barely listened but she watched the girls faces as they listened. She noticed the girls who looked troubled and scared, the ones who's brows were furrowed, and the ones who nodded in agreement. 

Finally it was Aussie's turn to speak. She stood still with her hands clasped in front of her and looked over all the girls before she opened her mouth, her volume audible but controlled. 

"Newbie day came, right on schedule, and we got the first boy in three years," she stated the facts as clinically as she could despite the hot coal of rage in her chest. "The day after that, we see the first creature loose in the maze. I admit, it's hard to believe that's just a coincidence."

The girls seemed surprised by Aussie's words, the ones who had nodded along to Thena's speech raised their brows now. 

"But let me take just a moment to ask you a few questions," Aussie continued as she took a few steps to her right to stand directly in front of the group. "Do we control when we get a newbie? Do we get to choose who is sent here? Do we pick the day we get supplies, and what those supplies will be? Do we control when the maze door opens and closes?"

Aussie had paused between each question, giving the girls time to think of an answer in their minds. After her final question she gazed out over the girls again to let it settle in their minds. 

"No," she stated simply with a soft shake of her head. "We don't control anything from here. The Makers control everything. I know that, you all know that, so what does that have to do with this? The Makers sent a Newbie on Newbie day, someone who came in the same box we did, memories gone just like us, stuck here just like us. I was tied to him all day, he didn't do anything. I have another witness, Joan."

Joan stepped up, staring at Thena's livid eyes. The rules about meetings were that you couldn't interrupt each other. 

"I was with Aussie and Gally in the maze," Joan confirmed. "He didn't do anything. What could he do anyway? There are no buttons or controls anywhere or we would have found them. If one of those creatures was loose it's because the Makers set it loose, not anyone here."

Joan stood behind Aussie instead of taking her seat when she was done talking. Aussie took a deep breath to steady her nerves before she appealed the girls good senses. 

"Is there enough evidence to justify murdering another person? If you kill him and things still keep changing, will you be able to live with yourselves?" Aussie looked around again, biting her lip to keep from crying. "We're not killers, we're survivors-"

"We're victims!" Thena shouted, startling the daylights out of everyone. "And we're going to keep being victims till we do something about it!"

Aussie was angry now, Thena had broken the rule of not interrupting. 

"Thena, it's my turn to speak," Aussie reminded her sharply. 

"You've said enough," Thena said, getting right up in Aussie's face, the latter was now very glad to have Joan nearby. "When it comes down to it, I'm in charge here and I will do anything I have to to keep us safe."

As much as it pained her to see her oldest friend acting so irrationally and cruelly, it was enough for Aussie to accept that Georgia had been right. Thena couldn't be in charge anymore. 

"Well then," she began calmly, indifference starting to run through her veins. "You shouldn't be in charge anymore."

Thena recoiled like she had been struck, surprise and hurt flashing across her features before the hatred returned. Murmurs broke out amongst the girls and Gertie, Lanie and Georgia joined Aussie and Joan in front of everyone. Aussie continued to stare down Thena while Georgia spoke up. 

"First of all, let's vote on the issue of Gally," she instructed. "It's an impromptu meeting so cast your vote by standing with the side you support."

Aussie felt a wave of triumph when everyone but Wilma took her side, but Aussie couldn't even blame the traumatized girl for that. Thena was looking like a cornered animal now, sneering at Aussie as Georgia instructed everyone to return to their seats. 

"Now, Aussie has challenged Thena's leadership. State your reasons," Georgia tried to speak diplomatically. 

"Thena was willing to break the most important rule in the Garden and cause physical harm to another Gardener," Aussie never broke her gaze with Thena as she spoke. "She can't enforce rules she's not willing to follow."

Georgia nodded and turned to Thena.   
"Anything you want to say in defense?"

"I'm trying to keep us all safe!" She began to yell and inadvertently set Aussie off. 

"Everyone but the person you want to murder that is!" Aussie said, her volume finally reaching Thena's levels. "Since when does safety involve killing?"

Something in Aussie's mind told her that the only way to discredit Thena for good was to get her to break the rules right in front of everyone, not just talk about it- actually do something. It was time to escalate the situation. 

"You're just a coward who's too afraid to accept change and if you want to kill someone..." she stepped up, looking at her pointedly in her rage filled eyes, knowing exactly what was coming her way. "You'll have to go through me first."

Thena suddenly smiled and Aussie was worried she'd seen through her trap. 

"Gladly," was all Thena said before winding her fist back before letting it connect with Aussie's face. 

Aussie stumbled back as pain shot through her head, black and white spots flashing in her eyes. Shouts rang out around her as hands grabbed her by the front of her shirt and threw her to the ground. She tried to brace herself but only managed to scrape her forearm on the rocky soil before landing on her back, a weight on top of her that she could only guess was Thena. She couldn't open her watering eyes no matter how hard she tried. 

"Hey!"

Many girls that had bee stunned by Thena's sudden violence only just began to move to her aid when a voice no one was used to yet cut angrily through the night. All the girls jumped before they froze in place, turning to see Gally steaming towards Thena. 

He was taking long, fast strides through the group, girls jumping out of his way, his face red with unconcealed anger. Thena looked terrified and jumped up from her crouched position over Aussie just in time to meet the brunt of his momentum. Not slowing down a bit he put his hands on her shoulders and shoved her so hard both of her feet flew out from under her and she landed a few feet away with the wind knocked out of her. Gally stepped over Aussie when he did this, getting between the two girls. 

Gertie and Lanie came to Aussie's aid, crouching at her side, and she stared up at Gally as best she could. She had one hand clamped to her left eye and other was tearing up and trying to force itself closed, a warm wet feeling on her upper lip. Joan was barely holding him back from doing more harm to Thena as the latter scrambled to her feet again, looking ragged now. More guards came up, some helping Joan hold back Gally and the others grabbing Thena. 

"What are you doing?" Thena shrieked at them. 

"You harmed another Gardener, 24 hours in the pit," Joan stated matter of factly as she kept a hand pressed to Gally's chest while he struggled to free his arms from the other guards. "Those are the rules."

Gally felt a spiteful joy bloom in his chest as he glared Thena down, satisfied she was going into the pit she'd put him in. Part of him wanted to be the one to drop her in it. The guards were digging their heels into the dirt but still weren't able to halt him completely. 

"Gally!" Joan barked, shoving him to get his attention. "Help Aussie."

He kept glaring at Thena but stopped trying to break free, he shook off their hands before turning around and looking down at Aussie in the most pathetic state he'd seen her in yet. Blood trickled from her nose and she had a hand clamped over one eye, the other red and watering. She wasn't crying. Thena was yelling as they drug her away but he didn't care to listen to what she was saying. 

"Oh, Aussie," Gertie sighed sympathetically. "You got some more brain damage for sure." She caught Gally's eye. "Can you help me get her to the house?"

She helped Aussie sit up slowly, then the next thing they knew, Gally was grabbing her under the arms like a little kid and lifting her just as easily. Aussie got a head rush and grabbed onto Gally's arms revealing a red and swelling eye and cut on her cheek. She was on her feet now but barely any of her weight was on them, Gally might as well be holding her up in the air. 

"Whoa!" Gertie hollered as she scrambled up off her knees. "Not so rough you friggin idiot! What the heck is your problem?"

Gally had been angry with Aussie for locking him up in that room like Rapunzel, especially when he woke up and heard they were fighting about him. He would have appreciated the opportunity to defend himself and be the one in Thena's line of fire as he could have handled it better. But as he looked at her, bloodied and bruised, some from Thena and some from him, all his anger fizzled. She'd suffered enough. 

He put her down on her feet long enough to turn her slightly and gently pick her up bridal style. 

"Whoa, hey," Aussie breathed uneasily, her hand tightly gripping his shirt. "She hit me in the face, not the legs. I think I can walk."

"Ah just slim it," Gally said softly but still with an edge of irritation in his voice. "It's your punishment for fighting my battles for me."

As he followed Gertie to the house, Aussie couldn't comprehend how in a million years this could be punishment. The throbbing in her head pounded like a drum with every step though, and she soon shut her eyes and rested her head against Gally's shoulder. He smelled sweaty and dirty but somehow it was a good stink. 

"Bring her in the kitchen. I'm gonna get something and be right back," Gertie told him before running ahead into the house. She still didn't sound happy with him. 

Aussie moaned when he stepped up into the house. He hadn't seen the kitchen yet but assumed it was on the first level. He walked through the room to the left of the front door where all the girls had been sitting around the runner earlier, and found the kitchen. He assumed the only reason they were going here first was to clean Aussie up, so he sat her on the counter by the sink, resting his hands on either side of her legs so he'd be there to catch her if she started falling over. 

They were eye level with each other for the first time but Aussie only had one good one to look at him with. He looked miffed to say the least, but she still caught the gold flecks in his blue eyes that sometimes made them shift to green. She was biting her bottom lip. 

"You're mad at me," She said softly, finally looking down. 

He sighed, reaching up to cup her chin in his hand, tilting her face back up as his thumb gently brushed the slightly dried blood from under her nose. He lightly grazed the corner of her mouth which sent an electric thrill up her spine. 

"Just a little annoyed," he admitted, wondering how she could be so perceptive in her condition. 

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was trying to protect you."

"Yeah, well, I can take a punch better than you. Just promise you'll remember that next time you try to protect me," it came across a little meaner than he intended it to, but he was really tired of her getting hurt. 

Her lips pursed.   
"Ooh, tough guy," she mumbled, lightly tapping his chin with her fist, a small smile appearing on her face. 

This actually earned her one small chuckle from him. The way his expression softened and his laugh sounded made the pain in her head go away for a moment. She knew she'd be trying to get him to smile again soon. 

"But thanks... for everything," he added awkwardly. 

She shrugged.   
"Hey, what else would I do."

Gally looked at her with just a hint of a smile playing around his lips. She was so odd. What else would she do but turn everything upside down and get decked in the face just to protect him, the new guy who tried to choke her death as soon as he laid eyes on her. No biggie. If she thought she was doing the right thing she didn't seem to care about the consequences. 

"Whoa-what's going on in here?" Gertie asked suggestively as she bounded into the room carrying a small bag. 

Gally backed up and turned to her, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck but remaining silent. Aussie just grinned innocently, looking like the happiest little attempted murder victim.


	9. Skeletons

Gertie flipped the light on, making Aussie clamp her eyes shut as she was unaccustomed to the brightness. 

"God Aussie, you really look like garbage," Gertie remarked sadly as she set her bag down on the counter next to her. 

Aussie's one good eye widened.   
"Do I have all my teeth?" She suddenly asked herself as she stuffed fingers in her mouth to check, relieved when she found them all intact. 

"Ooh you're definitely concussed," Gertie said as she walked around them to get to the sink and washed her hands. "She's not going to be very coordinated so just make sure she doesn't fall," she told Gally. 

He moved back to his original position though he was more self conscious about it with Gertie around and the lights on. Now that he could see her better he had to admit that Aussie did look pretty bad. He felt an out of place sadness seep from his chest to his stomach. Why did he always get weird feelings around her?

Gertie put on rubber gloves and ripped open a package of sterile wipes, pushing up Aussie's sleeve and cleaning her arm off. Then she got out a metal cylinder, opening one end and pulling out a syringe.

"What's that for?" Gally asked, wondering why on earth Aussie needed to get stabbed after everything else she'd been through.

"Aussie has a bad stomach, pain pills make her sick. So, she gets a shot instead," Gertie explained as she poked and prodded Aussie's arm till it turned red to desensitize the area first. Aussie still winced when the needle stuck her. 

Gally suddenly felt even worse for her, she seemed like the unluckiest girl in the whole world. 

"Here, you're taller," Gertie said as she handed Gally some weird plier looking things with a damp cotton ball clamped in them. "You do her face while I work on her arm."

Gally held the clamps but just stared down at Gertie for a moment, not exactly comfortable with her instructions. She finally looked up at him and got annoyed.

"Oh come one, just dab that on the cut to clean it, then I'll give you some antibiotics and bandaid to put on it. She took that hit for you, ya know," The small girl griped at him as she held up Aussie's forearm, gently cleaning the debris from her scrape.

Gally straightened up from his leaning position, but his shoulders drooped from being reminded of the reason Aussie's face looked like hamburger.

"Oh, it's not his fault," Aussie retorted. "It was Athena's." 

She suddenly bit her lip again and a look like shame crossed her face. Gally wasn't sure what she had to feel ashamed about, she was one tough cookie. He swallowed before starting the task of cleaning her face. He tried to be extra gentle but Aussie still flinched at first before apologizing to him of all things.

Joan came in the house just then, gaining everyone's attention. She seemed exhausted but also mildly satisfied as she grabbed a chair from the living room area and drug it into the kitchen. She plopped down in it with a sigh and crossed her arms.

"Well, Aussie," She spoke at last. "You're in charge now."

"What?" Aussie blurted, quite unsatisfied. "Why?"

Gally looked at her, confused as to why she was confused. He figured that since Aussie had challenged Thena in the first place it was kind of obvious that she'd be taking over. 

"Why do you think?" Joan replied, clearly riding the same train of thought as Gally. 

"I didn't want to be in charge," Aussie almost whined. "I was going to nominate you to be in charge."

Joan's face finally took on a full, real expression, not just a hint of one, and it was mild outrage. 

"Aussie," she said pointedly, her gaze going up to the ceiling as if asking God what was wrong with the girl. "Why would I be in charge? You've been here the longest."

That bit of news surprised Gally for some reason and he couldn't help his eyes from darting to Aussie in wonder. He hadn't put much thought into how long Aussie in particular had been here even though she had mentioned 3 years. He just figured she meant in general, not personally. And for him personally, he didn't like the concept of her living like this for so long- not just the physical things either, but the mental and emotional strains she'd gotten to know intimately. He'd pretty much been born yesterday and felt like he was already going crazy. 

"H-how did Thena get to be in charge then?" He asked, feeling almost like it wasn't his place to speak up here. 

An eerie wave washed over all three girls at once, the mood changing so drastically that a wave of apprehension hit his gut. He was afraid he'd said the wrong thing and also afraid of whatever they had to say on the matter. Joan was looking at Aussie who seemed to be just plain sad and miserable now. 

"Do you want me to tell him?" Joan asked her softly. 

Gertie had stopped treating her arm and just held her hand now. 

"If he wants to know, that's fine," Aussie shrugged, indifferently as she swung her crossed ankles out once before her heels hit the cabinet door. "But I don't see how it's important right now."

Joan seemed to gauge Aussie's reaction before she leaned toward him. "I'll catch you up later," she promised him. 

"Stop slacking," Gertie suddenly jerked back into motion and tossed him a tube of ointment that he barely caught, and then actually handed him a wrapped bandaid. 

He figured he'd better wash his hands for this so he did as the girls picked up their conversation again. 

"I didn't do what I did just to be able to take charge, that's not what I was after," Aussie said as if she had to defend herself. "I figured no one would want me to be since they all think I'm too emotional... besides, I'm not the smartest."

"But look at the good you've done the past two days," Gertie adamantly reminded her. "Without you being the way you are this ugly shank would be dead with a capital D."

Aussie swatted at Gertie with her free hand and nearly fell over. Gally fortunately caught her before she could topple into the sink. 

"Don't call him ugly!" She said with a surprising amount of sternness after landing a hard smack on Gertie's shoulder. She then turned to Gally with a very apologetic look in the functioning half of her face. "I'm so sorry. Honestly, you're the best looking guy I've ever seen."

She was definitely feeling her drugs now. That's what this had to be. It didn't stop the heat from rising to his cheeks or him wishing he was anywhere else right then. 

Gertie snorted, not looking up to notice his flushed cheeks. "He's the only guy you've ever seen," she muttered with a small grin as she started sticking bandaids on her arm. 

"Yeah, so I'm not lying," Aussie said before giggles started to bubble up from deep within her chest. It set Gertie and even Joan off too, the three girls falling into a small fit of giggles together before simmering back down, Aussie giving one little snort at the end. Even Gally found himself grinning slightly as he shook his head at them, glad to hear Aussie laugh again. He tried to control himself and finish his task before Gertie did something else to hurt his body or his feelings. 

"Hold still," he told Aussie as he held her chin with one hand to keep her steady and gingerly dabbed the ointment onto her cheek. 

She instantly seemed to sober up the moment his skin touched hers. 

"Can't we be a team?" She asked when he let go to open the bandaid. "You, me, maybe a few other girls- but all be in charge together instead of just one of us."

Gally was now trying to carefully place the tiny bandaid on Aussie's also tiny face. The only thing not tiny was his own fingers. He really shouldn't have accepted this job from Gertie, he was definitely out of his element. The gauze pad stuck to the ointment and he used the tip of his finger to smooth the sticky ends to her skin, trying to be very soft so as not to hurt her. His tongue poked out the corner of his mouth as he concentrated.

"Well, you're in charge so if that's how you want to do things, then feel free to run it by the girls," Joan said, earning an emotionless stare down from Aussie who was looking more exhausted by the second. 

"Do it tomorrow, though," Gally said, surprising everyone including himself. 

"Oh, right," Joan snapped her fingers. "Neither of you will be using Aussie's little house since it's right by the pits with Thena-" she sighed heavily and rubbed her temples "-and she won't shut up... so we're all gonna stay in the house tonight and lock the doors."

Gertie got something else out of her bag before walking to the freezer.   
"Gally, handsomest man in the Garden, you wanna help Aussie upstairs one more time?" She teased as she packed ice cubes into the little pouch. 

Gally stared her down, unamused, but his steely gaze didn't intimidate the little whack job. She just threw her mop of hair back as she chuckled.   
"Awe, come on. She's all doped up and needs help."

He looked at Aussie and saw her eyes fluttering as she swayed lightly. 

"I'll go get the room ready," Joan said before pushing herself out of her seat and hurrying to get up stairs. A few seconds later Gally heard her react to the mess he'd made to get out of his own room earlier. Holding Aussie now became a human shield situation he was grateful for. 

"K, come on Aussie," he said as he stood in front of her, getting into position to hold her like he had earlier. 

She was on the verge of just passing out, the stress of the day and the drugs in her veins pushing her toward the edge. When he stood in front of her, she slumped forward, her chin landing on his chest just below his shoulder. He tensed up as she drowsily wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling herself closer to him. A protest began in his throat but died on his lips when he unexpectedly felt something inside of him melt into it. His hips slipped between her knees and she crossed her ankles behind him like a child being carried. He just had to figure out what to do with his hands. If he actually held her like you would a child in this position, he'd be touching her butt, which he figured Gertie would assault him for. He put one hand on her back and the other under the back of her knee to help support her weight before sliding her off the counter and turning so Gertie wouldn't see his face.

"Lead the way," he told Gertie. 

Aussie's mouth was pressed to the crook of his shoulder her steady sleeping breath hot against his neck. It was torture and euphoria all at once, his heart pounded and Gally was completely confused. He may not know much, but he was pretty sure these weren't normal reactions on his part. Still, his arm wrapped more tightly around her, afraid she might go limp. 

"One stair at time this time," Gertie told him with a little smirk as they began climbing the stairs. She saw how red his face was and the daggers he glared at her and felt a little giddy, but decided not to abuse him any further. There was something so tease-able about him to Gertie and it felt odd when she thought about it. He was objectively quite intimidating and she had not known him long at all.

She got to the top of the stairs and her eyes landed on the broken door to the room he had been in. The door handle, attached to a splintered chunk of wood, lay in the doorway while the door itself leaned crookedly on one hinge. Gertie stared at it, her hands coming up from her sides as she shook her head. She turned to Gally to say something along the lines of 'what the actual heck, dude?!' but couldn't bring herself to do it when she saw the slightly apologetic and embarrassed look he gave her over Aussie's shoulder. He had done it to get to Aussie and Gertie didn't mind that. She dropped her hands and kept going down the hall. 

Joan emerged from one of the rooms carrying a mattress with her, an old and yellowed thing. She didn't look at them, just turned and took it into the room at the very end of the hall. Gally entered it to see one normal bed and three more mattresses crammed into the available floor space. 

"Us girls will take the floor, you can have the bed bed," Joan instructed as she closed and locked the door behind him. "And if you don't mind, I'm gonna go to sleep immediately."

"Go for it," Gertie agreed. "You deserve it."

Joan flopped down on the one mattress that ran perpendicular to the other two. 

"You gonna put her down or hold her all night?" Gertie asked him when he continued to stand there. 

He gave a small exasperated sigh.   
"Waiting on you to tell me where to put her."

"The one closest to your bed," Gertie instructed. 

He carefully balanced Aussie's weight as he slipped off his shoes before walking over the first mattress and carefully laying Aussie down on the second. A small moan came from her throat as her hands slipped over his shoulders to come to rest across her stomach. Her body heat lingered on his skin as he stepped over her and crashed on the bed breathing a heavy sigh. 

Gertie sat beside Aussie and gently pressed the ice pack to her swollen eye. Aussie flinched away at first but didn't wake up. 

"She's my favorite person here," Gertie said quietly. She didn't have to look at Gally to know he was awake and was going to be for a while. 

The springs groaned under him as he turned onto his side. "How long have you been here?" He asked her. 

"7 months," Gertie sighed.

"That's pretty impressive," Gally said, pulling a face. "I thought you'd have been here longer based on how they all treat you."

Gertie looked kind of pleased at that, showing just how young she really was. 

"Do you know what Joan was going to tell me?" He asked her, propping himself up on his elbow. 

"Oh, that," the same weird mood washed over her as before but this time it just made Gally curious. "I guess I could tell you about that."

She pulled the sheet over Aussie and settled back into a comfortable position before she began talking. 

"I don't know if I know the whole thing, Aussie and Thena don't like to talk about it, but eventually they have to explain the grave to everyone," she shifted uncomfortably. 

"The girl who killed herself?" Gally questioned. 

Gertie nodded solemnly.   
"That was Mary, the first girl that got sent here. After her came Aussie, then Thena. Being alone here for a month was too much for Mary, she was already... disturbed by the time Aussie came up. She kept it together just long enough for Thena to arrive before she slit her wrists in the basement. That's when Thena became the one in charge."

Gally turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling, trying to process that information.

"It always boggled my mind," Gertie went on quieter than before. "How Aussie spent a month alone with a nutcase, then found her dead in a pool of blood and she still turned out so... nice, while Thena, on the other hand..."

Gally knew exactly what she meant by that. 

"When I got here I found out quick that all the girls were really, really smart- that I was too," Gertie went on, not sure why she felt so comfortable over sharing the whole history of the Garden with him. "But Aussie was kind. And the longer you're here, the more you'll appreciate kindness over intelligence."

With that, Gertie set aside the ice pack and laid down on her mattress, reaching over and grabbing Aussie's hand before closing her eyes. Gally looked down at them for a while, all the events and information of the day bouncing around in his head. There was a heaviness in his chest, like someone kneeling on it, as he tried to comprehend the lives these girls lived, Aussie in particular. He wondered how long they could all go on like this, and how he could possibly fit into it, until drowsiness drew his thoughts to more pleasant things, a tingle in the crook of his neck, and he finally drifted off.


	10. Dreams

Dreams are funny things. No one seems to agree about why we dream and what our dreams mean, if they mean anything at all. Maybe they help us release emotions or process our memories from the day. They can also reveal a creative idea, providing inspiration to the dreamer. But in the Garden, dreams were something else. 

Memories cannot be erased or taken away, but merely hidden, locked away from the rest of the mind. But when a memory or an emotion has been thoroughly digested by the unconscious mind, it stays there forever and, if you're lucky, you can catch a glimpse of it again. So when a Gardener dreamed, now matter how strange or bizarre it chose to be, what they were really doing was remembering. 

Gally was remembering now. Aussie was back in his arms as he carried her down the corridors of the maze. The ivy covered walls loomed above them, the metal signs on every corner. Aussie's fingers traced over his back as he calmly walked along the stone paths. 

"You forgot what you're looking for," Aussie murmured against his neck and he relished the feeling. 

He didn't say anything back, but he knew that he was looking for the way out. 

"You forgot," she said again, her voice low and soft. 

He turned a corner when she pulled away from him, her face filling his vision as her hands cradled the back of his neck. There were no bruises anywhere on her and he was mesmerized by her eyes, so vividly clear and detailed down to the dark ring of blue on the outer edge of her iris, and the shine. 

"Gally," she said, an urgency in her soft voice now. "You forgot her."

Who did he forget? He placed his hand on her back and pulled her to his shoulder again, her arms wrapping around his neck. The corridor in front of him was now lined with doors, wooden doors with brass knobs directly across from each other on each side of the corridor and evenly spaced, stretching as far as the eye could see. He walked along instead of trying to open any of them, until he came to one that was broken, the knob on the ground surrounded by splinters, the door wide open and askew on its hinges. He stopped and looked inside. 

Thena stood in the bedroom, sunlight streaming into it as if it had no roof just like the rest of the maze. She looked calm and composed as she stared at them. 

"Just stay here, where it's safe," Thena suggested. "Bring Aussie in here where she's safe."

He had to admit, that sounded good. Something clicked deep inside of him that provided a bit clarity and the accompanying relief, and he held her tighter. He wanted to keep her safe, expressly and explicitly he wanted Aussie to be safe. But Thena was not to be trusted. The answer was not to go in that room, but to keep going forward. 

"You can save her," Aussie whispered, her nose and lips grazing his ear as he glared at Thena over her shoulder. "You can save us both."

With that he turned and sprinted down the corridor. His legs pumped, his breathing was perfect, he was practically flying. A figure appeared on the horizon, just a dark splotch against the white-blue sky. Whoever it was waved. 

The edges began to fade as he slipped from dream to awake, a hand gently shaking his shoulder and a soft voice calling his name. His eyes opened to see Gertie standing over him, sunlight illuminating the whispy ends of her hair sticking off her head. It was slightly flattened on one side. 

"I thought you freaking died," she almost laughed. "You slept yesterday away and it wasn't enough?"

He just groggily stared up at her, bits of his dream still floating through his head and he was trying desperately to catch as many as he could. 

"Joan and I are going to go wash up, remember the schedule? Anyway, stay here with Aussie and don't wake her up, she should get as much sleep as possible."

He nodded and rolled to the side to peek at her. She was laying on her right side, turned away from him, curled up all cozy. Joan was standing by the door. 

"We're locking the door just to be safe, don't break this one down," she told him, trying to keep her voice low so as not to wake Aussie. 

He just rolled his eyes at her before looking at Gertie again. 

"You're really going to leave me alone with her?" He asked incredulously, his voice raspy as he used it for the first time that day. "You trust me that much?"

Gertie managed to look at him sarcastically.   
"Yeah, super virgin, I'm not worried about you," Gertie snorted. "I'll be back soon and then you'll be free to go."

She turned and tiptoed around Aussie, leaving the room with Joan. He stared at the door for a moment before flicking his hand up and shaking his head. 

"What the heck does that mean?" He quietly asked aloud, thoroughly confused by Gertie and her weird ways. He really hoped she wouldn't start calling him that. 

Finally he looked down at Aussie again, not really able to see her face save for a purple tint glowing from under the bandaid he'd applied last night. 

Last night. 

His hand rubbed the crook of his neck as he stared at her, heat rising to his cheeks and dancing on the bridge of his nose. He didn't know Aussie, he didn't know anyone here for that matter, so why was she in his dreams? Why did she give him a feeling of something... familiar? And why did his body react to her the way it did? It was ridiculous, it's not like she was exceptionally beautiful. He pushed the thoughts and feelings away as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up, stretching. 

He was curious to see what had become of Aussie's face over night, so he got up, carefully stepping over her before sitting cross legged on the bed Gertie had slept on last night. Aussie's face was tilted down, blankets and hands obscuring most of it. He gently pulled the blanket back and saw the deep purple and red bruising around her left eye and the side of her nose. Anger flared up in his chest unexpectedly and his jaw clenched, but it faded away when he started to wonder where it came from.

He remembered his dream, how he saw every detail of her eyes. He tried to think of how much time he actually spent looking at Aussie's eyes and how much he could actually have noticed, and wished her eyes were open now so he could compare reality with his dream. He closed his own eyes as he tried to conjure that image back up in his mind, but something else came up instead. In his dream she didn't have the bruise on her neck, but he'd never actually seen her without it so how did he dream up three little beauty marks on the right side of her neck shaped like a perfect diamond? 

Wait. He rubbed his eyes hard, pressing the heel of his palms into his eye sockets till he saw stars. Why did he think diamond? Three would be a triangle, so why did his mind so easily say diamond? Aussie was currently laying on her right side so he couldn't check for either shape. He was so desperate to figure out what his mind was trying to do that he was tempted to roll her over himself to get a look. But he remembered Gertie saying she needed to sleep as much as possible, he couldn't risk waking her up. 

He sighed heavily, elbow propped on his knee and chin resting on his palm as he stared at the sleeping girl in front of him. She was questions and answers, mystery and familiarity, and most importantly his savior. 

He heard thumping footsteps coming rapidly up the stairs in the otherwise silent house. He sprang to his feet and padded quietly to the door, ready for anything. The key slid in the lock and the door began to swing open, Gally's hand shot out and grabbed it, holding it so he could see who it was before they had enough space to enter the room. 

"Jeez!" Gertie's voice hissed, thoroughly startled as she gave Gally the eye through the crack. "Down boy, good guard dog."

He rolled his eyes as he let her in, wondering how many things she'd think to call him. She came in and it was his turn to be startled. Her hair was wet and limp, not in its normal gravity defying shape. She looked different. 

"Good, she's still asleep," Gertie sighed in relief as she walked over to Aussie. "What a shiner."

"How long do you think she'll sleep for?" Gally asked, standing over the two of them. 

"Awe, do you miss her?" Gertie asked, pouting her lips. "You want your widdle best fwend to wake up and pway wiff you?"

"Listen, you little nutcase," he planted his hands on his knees and bent over to look her in the eyes. She was grinning broadly. "I don't know what your deal is, but can we call some kind of truce here? You're driving me crazy."

Gertie giggled.   
"Sorry, I just- I dunno man. You're just so tease-able," she admitted. 

He wasn't actually mad at her, just confused and vaguely annoyed. What she just said got him thinking though, and he sat down next to her as Aussie kept sleeping. 

"Does anyone ever get the feeling that someone is familiar? Like, maybe you knew them before you got here?" He asked her. 

She wiped the smirk off her face and took on a thoughtful expression.   
"Personally... no... I don't think anyone seemed familiar, but some people felt more... comfortable? I guess? I dunno."

"Is that why you think I'm tease-able? Do you feel comfortable with me?" He asked, glad he got something useful out of her. 

She looked at him thoughtfully again. "Yeah, I guess so," she nodded. "That's.. pretty weird."

They fell silent for a moment as that settled in. 

"Why are you asking? Does someone feel familiar to you?" She asked him, turning away from Aussie and more toward him. 

He wasn't sure he wanted to admit to it being Aussie as it would probably lead to more teasing.

"Does anyone remember anything from before?" He asked instead, earning a squint from her, unhappy her question was dodged. 

"If they did they haven't told me," she shrugged. "Aussie's the only one that seems to remember things."

"She does? Like what?" He asked in quick succession, as he stared at her intently. 

"Nothing useful unfortunately. Just a song, some words and quotes, little stuff like that. Now, what's up with you? Spill it," she demanded, waving her fingers in a 'pay-up' gesture. 

He placed his hand across his brow, squeezing his temples, before letting his hand run down his face. 

"I don't know yet," he sighed.

************************************

Aussie woke up with difficulty, voices trickling in her ears as she fought her way to consciousness as if sleep were quicksand sucking her under. She went to rub her tired and crusty eyes and a wave of pain went through her face. 

"Ow," she groaned as a hand wrapped around her wrist, gently pulling it away from her face. 

She peeled one eye open and saw Gally leaning over her, the sunlight from the window illuminating his softly concerned face just right. He looked like art to her and she wondered if she was still asleep and dreaming. Then Gertie popped her head between them, tendrils of wet hair slowly coiling against gravity as it dried. 

"Welcome back!" She said cheerfully and Aussie buried her face in her pillow again. 

"What happened?" She asked in a muffled voice as Gally's hand slipped away from her skin. 

"What do you remember?" Gertie questioned. 

Aussie thought for a moment, what did she remember? Thena hit her, Gally saved her, she was in charge, and then she blacked out on the kitchen counter. And then she had some dream about Gally carrying her up the stairs... maybe that actually happened?

"Oh god, I'm in charge," she groaned into the pillow. "Crap."

She rolled onto her stomach before pulling her legs up under her, getting onto her hands and knees before getting to her feet. 

"Whoa whoa," Gertie got up as well and held her arms out as if to catch Aussie if she fell. "Where are you going? You should rest."

"I have a long list of things to do, like go to the bathroom, eat something, take a gosh darn shower, and fix everything I've screwed up," Aussie said as she brushed between the two of them and lightly hobbled to the door. 

Gertie caught up with her and held her by the arm as Gally trailed behind them, not sure what else to do. He wasn't sure why Gertie was letting Aussie get up and move around but he didn't try to stop her either. They got down stairs slowly and carefully and were almost to the kitchen when Gertie turned to him. 

"I'll take care of her, go out and get breakfast with everyone else," she instructed, nodding toward the door. 

He felt like he was about to protest but two things occurred to him: he still didn't know why he had these gut reactions to things involving Aussie, and also he was starving. Maybe if he put some space between himself and Aussie he'd be able to think more clearly. He nodded and took one more glance at Aussie who smiled weakly at him, then turned and left.

Regret hit him seconds later when he realized he was walking into a huge group of girls without Aussie or Gertie as buffers, but thankfully Joan spotted him coming. She grabbed two bowls and nodded for him to join her. 

"Aussie awake?" She asked as they sat down at a table. She set a bowl in front of him. 

"Thanks. Yeah she's awake," he answered her as he stirred the strange sludge in his bowl. "Gertie's helping her out."

With that he started inhaling his food and Joan let him do so in peace. She was alright and he even kinda liked her, but he didn't have any familiar feelings with her. It felt like they had met for the first time here in the Garden and not before. He had the horrible notion that he might have to endure meeting every girl here to check if any seemed familiar. 

"What are you thinking about?" Joan asked, looking at him like he'd grown a third eye. His expression must have given him away. 

She seemed safe enough to talk to, less sufferable than Gertie at least, so he decided to ask her too. 

"Do you remember anything from before you got here?" He asked, setting his spoon in the now empty bowl. 

Joan leaned back in her seat and looked thoughtful, like maybe it had been a while since someone asked her this and he had to double check. 

"It's hard to say," she began. "It's more like I came here knowing things than remembering them, but it's trivial stuff like the earth is round, there's gravity, miles and feet and inches and Fahrenheit and blah blah blah. But it's not like I know who sent us here or why."

"Do you.." he paused, trying to think how to phrase it. "Feel like you knew anyone here from before?"

She leaned forward, looking at him intently.   
"Do you?" She countered, her usually passive demeanor turned curious. 

He nodded. 

"Is it Aussie?" She asked quietly. 

He nodded again, more fervently, wondering how she knew. Maybe he'd get an answer or a clue at least. 

"That's interesting," Joan mused. "But almost expected. Some girls have said something similar, and even if they don't say it outright it's plain to see that most girls act a certain way around her when they first get here."

"How do you mean?"

Joan shrugged.   
"Like they know to listen to her. I could tell them to do something and they'll try to pull back and ask why, but if Aussie tells them the same thing they just go oh ok and do it."

Gally stared off into the open field. It was an interesting new tidbit of information, but over all unhelpful. That's not how he felt with Aussie at all. 

"You know," Joan pulled him out of his thoughts. "Not to be weird or anything, but you're obviously in peak physical condition. That requires training and exercise so if you want to keep up that speed and strength you can always train with me and the runners. I can always make things more challenging for you than the girls since they're... girls."

He nodded, the image of him sprinting through the maze carrying Aussie flashed in his mind. At least it was something to do.   
"I'll take you up on that," he said appreciatively. 

"Oh," Joan said looking at something behind him. "Gert alert."

Gertie appeared by their table, panting a little from jogging over.   
"Are you done with breakfast?" She asked him. 

"Are seconds allowed?" He asked them. 

"Yeah," Joan said. "If there's no more stew left there's always some kind of snacks."

"Ok, well when you're done, Aussie wants you," she informed him. 

"Is she ok?" He asked, already getting out of his seat. 

"She's... fine," she seemed annoyed more than concerned. "I wish she'd rest more but she won't stop doing things. Anyway, just get some more food and come when you can."

With that she bounded back to the house. He glanced back at Joan because he could feel her eyes on him, a knowing look plastered on her long face. He almost asked 'what?' but he knew. 

Song suggestion: Hallucinations (acoustic) by PVRIS

I feel like I’m dragging this out maybe a bit too much... I promise things will pick up in the next chapter. Please leave comments and let me know what you think. Thanks!


	11. New Developments

Gally had forced himself to get another helping of breakfast and sit back down to eat it, fighting that strong magnetic pull to go see Aussie. Luckily Joan had gone off to work and wasn't there to give him any looks or say anything to him. 

It was aggravating to say the least, all these unexplainable feelings he didn't understand or want. It felt like he didn't have a choice, and when you're dropped somewhere against your will you like to have as many choices as you can. Sure, Aussie had helped him out a lot, like a lot, and he trusted her because of it. He also owed her a lot, so he'd be as helpful as he could to her to return the favor, he probably just felt a sense of loyalty to her is all. 

He took his two empty bowls to the kitchen where several girls were there washing dishes. They were glancing at him and whispering, making him feel uncomfortable. He tried to be civil, not give anyone reason to distrust or dislike him, so he gave them a curt nod before heading toward the house, faint giggles reaching his ears once his back was turned. He picked up the pace. 

As soon as he opened the door he could hear Gertie. 

"Aussie, I'll find it!" She yelled. 

"You don't know what it looks like, I do," Aussie's voice replied calmly. 

"You should be resting! Please, Aussie," Gertie pleaded. 

"I feel fine."

He finally found them in a storage room down the hall between the stairs and kitchen. Gertie was standing over Aussie who sat on the floor, going through a box of clothes. Her hair was down from its usual bun or ponytail and it hung down to the middle of her back, still a little damp. 

"What's up?" He asked. 

Gertie looked up at him, her own hair back in its usual gravity defying glory and green eyes silently begging for help. Pick her up and throw her back in bed, they seemed to say. 

Aussie, however, seemed pleased to see him as she twisted around to look up at him.   
"Ah, Gally," she said, her bright smile clashing with all the trauma from her shoulders up. "Just one sec, I know they're in here."

She turned back to the box and threw some clothes around haphazardly till she seemed to find what she was looking for. She stood up, throwing a pair of pants over her shoulder before holding a shirt up in front of Gally. She pinched the very ends of the shoulders and held it against his own, the grazes of her fingers against him could not be ignored. She looked different with her hair down, prettier, and that familiar feeling melted his insides against his will again. 

"I think this was for you," she said decidedly as she looked him up and down. "I wondered why they gave us such big clothes. Lucky I didn't turn it into something else before you got here."

She folded the shirt in half and threw it over her other shoulder before grabbing the pants and holding them by the waistband, moving them toward his hips. He knew he couldn't bear feeling her touch again so he gently grabbed them from her. 

"They look about right, I can tell," he said. 

"Oh good," Aussie sighed happily as she handed him the shirt too. "Now, come this way."

She stepped between him and Gertie, the smell of lavender and soap following her, and led him a little farther down the hall. 

"You can use the shower in here today," she told him as she stopped by a door, leaning on the frame as she pushed it open wide, a small white bathroom on the other side. "Just give me your dirty clothes and I'll wash them for you."

"I can wash my own clothes," he insisted but when he saw a hint of disappointment in her eyes he added. "You should rest, you're worrying Gertie sick. Her fuzzy little head might explode if you don't go lay down."

Aussie chuckled as she pushed her hair behind her ear cutely. "Yeah, I will. I just need to take care of one thing first."  
Her smile faded and a darker look crossed her face, but then she was all smiles again.   
"Enjoy your shower, you really need one," her smile turned to a smirk to show she was teasing him, and he couldn't help returning it. 

She walked away from him then so he wouldn't see the idiotic grin on her face, the joy of getting him to smile was too much for her to contain. It gave her the boost she needed to do what she was going to do now. Talk to Thena.

The sun was brighter than she remembered and she squinted as she headed off in the direction of the pits. Quick footsteps approached her from behind and Georgia appeared at her elbow. 

"She lives!" She commented, speed walking to keep pace with with her long strides. 

"I'd hope it'd take more than that to kill me," Aussie chuckled. 

"So what's on the agenda for today Commander?" 

"First of all, don't call me Commander," Aussie gave her the side eye. "And I'm going to talk to Thena right now, then I'll call a meeting after I hear what she has to say."

"Right on," Georgia nodded. "Can't wait to see what you do."

Georgia patted her on the shoulder before veering off and heading back to her job. She'd sounded oddly sincere about that last comment, not dripping with the usual sarcasm or venom, and Aussie almost tripped. 

There were two guards standing at the pit with their spears and the ladder was close to them as well. Aussie glanced across the clearing and saw two guards at the Maze door too. One of the guards at the pit approached her, Rani, a strong but graceful girl with caramel skin and thick black hair she had to keep short or it was just too heavy. 

"Hey Aussie, how you doing?" She asked first. 

"Been better, but I'm alive," Aussie couldn't bring herself to lie and say she was fine. "What did I miss?"

"Joan has been giving the guards orders since Thena's been in the pit and you were KOed- no offense," Rani began to look nervous, as though she just remembered Aussie was in charge now. 

"It's fine, I was," Aussie waved it off. 

"Anyway, Joan posted two guards at the maze to make sure nothing comes out, and us here to watch Thena," Rani finished. "We have the ladder here so we can get her out on the off chance something does come from the maze. That's pretty much it."

"How has Thena been?" Aussie asked softly, indicating she didn't want to be overheard by her. 

"I never would have taken her as the hysterical type, let alone a cryer," Rani replied in a matching hush. 

Aussie bit her lips and nodded. "I'm gonna talk to her real quick, then call a meeting."

"Ok, we'll keep our post, just move away to give you some privacy," Rani said before glancing over her shoulder and beckoning the other guard. 

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Aussie patted her shoulder before going over to the pit.

She looked down and saw the unsettling sight of the normally strong and brassy Thena crumpled and balled into a corner. Aussie sat cross legged opposite her. 

"Thena?" She called softly. 

Slowly her head lifted and revealed two swollen and bloodshot eyes. She didn't say a word. Aussie was racked with a wave of guilt. She had manipulated Thena just like the Makers manipulated them, and this is what it had cost her. 

"Thena, I know you're angry with me, but I want you to know something," Aussie began saying what she'd come to say. "None of the stuff I did last night was because I wanted to be in charge. I don't want to be in charge, I just... I didn't want you to kill anybody."

Thena felt ashamed of herself but her pride wouldn't let her apologize to Aussie. "What are you going to do with me?" 

"Well, it's up to you," Aussie said, trying to muster up all her strength to be firm and make the tough call. "I would like to get you out of there and have you join the rest of us again, but I gotta make sure you've put all thoughts of killing out of your head."

Thena looked at her sharply.   
"You want me to just come out of here and pretend everything's ok? Are you really so dumb struck by the first stupid boy you saw that you'd turn on me, the person who's taken care of you for three whole years? Does that all mean nothing to you?!"

Thena was agitated now, her fingers digging into the dirt. 

"It did mean something, it meant a lot, and it still does," Aussie countered, slightly angered by Thena's insults. "So imagine how shocked I was to hear you were perfectly fine with murder! Listen, I don't want to have to keep you in the pit, and I really really don't want to have to banish you, but I will if You make me, so for the love of God, Athena, just accept the fact that no one is killing anyone and come back and actually help us."

Hot, angry tears pooled in Thena's eyes but Aussie's were strangely dry. Having nothing else to say, she got up, brushed the dirt from her backside and walked away, Thena hurling curses and insults at her from below ground. Despite all the time spent together, Aussie felt deeply resolved to do whatever Thena forced her to if it meant keeping someone else safe. At least... she tried to tell herself she'd do it for anyone, but she couldn't help the feeling that she was especially willing to keep Gally safe at any cost. 

Speak of the devil. Ahead of her, leaning on the dead bottle tree was Gally himself. He was clean now, wearing his new shirt. It was a dark teal color and the neck was wider than the one he came in, exposing more of his neck and clavicle. It took Aussie a moment to notice he had his right hand clenched in a fist and held close to his chest. She gave him a quizzical look as he locked eyes with her, pushed himself off the tree and came towards her. His strides were long and quick, his face deadly serious. Aussie almost felt apprehensive, like she was in trouble somehow. He came right up to her, personal space thrown to the wind as she found herself staring up into his intense gaze. 

"Gertie said you remember some things from before, words and stuff like that," he said urgently. 

"Uh," she replied intelligently. 

He brought his fist up between them, his fingers uncurling slightly for her to see a piece of paper in his hand as he crowded her even more. It was like he didn't want anyone to see it, but there was no one around. 

She looked back up at him with questioning eyes. 

"I found it in my pocket," he explained, then his face went kind of pink and he averted his eyes from hers. "I think you should take a look at it."

She put her hand out to accept it from him, her heart pounding for many reasons, but he shook his head. 

"Not here," he said with a low voice. 

"What? Why?" Aussie asked, intrigued beyond belief. Her heart nearly burst from her chest when he leaned in even further, his lips by her ear.

"It says they're watching," he whispered.

That was the creepiest thing he could have said just then, but Aussie was still confused. 

"Do you mean-"

"The makers," he answered before she even finished her question. 

Well, Aussie thought to herself, it just got creepier. 

Song suggestion: Glory and Gore- Lorde


	12. Revelation

"Ok..." Aussie trailed off as she scratched the top of her head with her pointer finger, trying to wrap her head around the situation at hand. "Does it give us a hint where we should take it?"

His head tilted, one brow up and one down.   
"Yeah. But you're not gonna like it."

She gazed up into his eyes in confusion, almost completely distracted from the conversation at hand by the fact he was so, so close to her face. But the thought finally dawned on her and her expression went slack.   
"Is it the friggin basem-"

Gally nodded before she even finished the word and she bit her bottom lip angrily to keep from cursing. She took several steps back from him as her hands went to her head pushing her hair back. Her stomach was turning and her heart beat so fast she thought she'd faint. Her shaking hands went to her hips before she finally spoke again.   
"Give me... like... 5 minutes and I'll meet you there."

She promptly turned on her heel and walked off without further explanation. Gally didn't head to the house or follow Aussie. He just stood there and watched her, the note firmly clutched in his fist. Aussie stomped into the clearing before looking around. Gally thought he heard a whistle and a moment later Aussie was tackled by a black and white blur. She was barely visible in the grass as she embraced the dog. 

That girls suicide must have deeply affected Aussie if she wasn't racing for the chance to read a message from the outside world. 

"What's going on?" Georgia asked, materializing at his elbow. 

"What would it take to get Aussie into the basement?" He asked her without taking his eyes off where he'd seen Aussie sit down. 

Georgia let out an obnoxious and humorless laugh as she placed her fists on her hips.   
"Uh, knocking her out and dragging her body down there I guess, but I think she's had enough head injuries already. Why do want her to go down there? I thought you were supposed to be sweet on her or something."

"I wouldn't have asked her if it wasn't really important," his first clenched tighter around the note till he could feel a raw edge start to cut his palm. 

There was a long pause and he could see Georgia out of the corner of his eye look at him, follow his gaze, and look back at him. 

"What happened?" She finally asked, all seriousness now. 

"I can't tell you until we're in the basement," he said quietly. 

He heard her palms slap against her thighs as she uttered a low, long string of curses and profanities.

"Things just keep getting better around here," she finally mumbled. "So, do we have to go get her, or-?"

"She said she'd meet me there in 5 minutes and went off to find the dog," he told her. "She'll come."

"She's self soothing," Georgia nodded. "We should let her bring the dog with her."

"What do you mean?" Gally asked, finally looking at her since her voice had traces of sympathy in it. 

"That dog is her only source of physical affection here. It's important to people like her," Georgia explained. 

"What about the rest of you?"

Georgia wrinkled her nose.   
"We're not soft like that."

Gally scoffed and looked back at Aussie as she stood up, wiped her face and straightened out her clothes. 

"What?" Georgia questioned him. 

He looked down at her, knowing better.   
"You didn't say that like it was a good thing."

Her eyes squinted at him but the corners of her mouth went up just slightly. At least he wasn't as dumb as he looked.

"What the heck are you two up to?" Gertie called as her and Joan walked up. 

"Oh good," Georgia remarked. "The gang's all here. We're dragging Aussie to the basement."

Two sets of brows shot up at the same time. 

"Excuse me?" Gertie threatened more than asked. 

"Will you all keep it down," Gally hissed, looking pointedly at Georgia. 

Gertie looked at him like he was absolutely crazy. Further conversation was derailed when Aussie came up to them, almost unnoticed. 

"What are you still standing around here for?" She asked. "I told you I'd meet you there."

"Are you really going-" Gertie's eyes were wide as saucers when Aussie interrupted her. 

"Yes, and keep your voice down," Aussie told her. "We'll explain when we get there."

Everyone was staring at Aussie, noticing her uneven breathing, her hunched shoulders and arms crossed over her stomach as if she were nauseous. If Gally wasn't mistaken he saw her right eye twitch, but there was a determination there too. Her gaze flicked over each of them before her brows furrowed slightly. 

"What are you all looking at? Let's go get this over with," she said before turning and heading toward the house. 

With no reply they all followed her, Gertie catching up and looping her arm through the crook of Aussie's elbow.

"All I have to say," Joan's words came out with sharp edges. "Is this better be real shucking important."

She picked up her pace and Gally was left with Georgia and the sudden dread that this piece of paper might not be anything at all. He pictured unfolding it just to find it blank- or worse, some sort of sardonic message, a little neener neener from The Makers, and Aussie would be traumatized for nothing. 

But that couldn't be it. Something in his gut knew that wasn't true. He must have been sent there for a purpose and maybe this was part of it. At least that's what he hoped. 

As they stepped up onto the porch is when Joan got his attention again. Her dark eyes that looked especially old in that moment locked onto his before she nodded for him to come up and join her ahead of the rest. He brushed by Gertie who had a hold on Aussie's arm still and came up to Joan. She didn't say anything, just quickened her pace, and he followed closely. They left the others behind, Aussie moving at agonized pace, and only once they were on the steps down to the basement did Joan speak. 

"You're going to help me move the table to cover it up before she gets down here," she told him. 

"Cover what-" he began his question in the middle of the stair case and received the answer once he reached the bottom. 

Joan had turned on the single, bare bulb in the room and as it swung from the ceiling the light and shadows danced upon the bloodstained floor. With each swing the light illuminated an edge to the dark brown stain, revealing just how large it was. Larger than he ever expected it could have been. 

"Come on," Joan said when she saw he'd become transfixed. 

He snapped out of it and quickly went to help her move an old folding table. It was a thick sheet of plywood, heavier than he estimated it would be, with a peeling laminate surface. One metal leg was missing its rubber cap so the whole thing had a slight wobble to it. They set it over as much of the stain as it would cover, slightly off center when they noticed it would cast a shadow in one direction that covered more of the huge splodge. 

The stairs creaked as the girls began their decent. The heavy and careless steps of Georgia were clear as day till she joined them at the bottom. Aussie and Gertie came together, their footfalls light but steadily paced, determined but in no hurry, as if they were headed to the gallows. Finally they appeared, Aussie holding Gertie's hand so tightly her knuckles were white and her blue veins bulged. Her features were hard set and her gaze stayed high above the floor. 

Gally felt like burning the whole place down, but it was too late for that. Aussie was now beside him, still with her death grip on Gertie to her other side. Joan was on his other side and Georgia was beside her, all of them looking at him in silent expectation. He didn't know what to say, so with a sigh he held out his hand, uncurling his fingers and revealing the folded piece of paper. He set it down on the table in front of them, the warning staring up at them in scrawled pencil. 

DO NOT READ IN THE OPEN  
GO TO THE BASEMENT   
THEY ARE WATCHING 

"Where'd you get it?" Georgia asked, her eyes lit up like Christmas lights. 

"What the hell?" Joan questioned under her breath, clearly disturbed.

"Found it when I was about to get in the shower today. I finally had the thought to look through all my pockets and there it was," he explained. 

A few silent seconds passed as they continued to stare at it. 

"Is someone gonna open it?" Gertie asked out of the corner of her mouth. 

"Go ahead," Aussie said very quietly, her finger tips grazing his arm for a split second before her hand returned to her side. Her gaze stayed fixed on the note. 

He picked it up again and began to unfold it, the girls pressing closer to him for a better view. The first warning they saw was the only writing on the one side of the paper, and a somewhat longer message was typed on the other side. He set it back on the table and ran his hand over it, smoothing out the wrinkles and getting it to lay as flat as it could. When he brought his arm back Aussie latched onto it with her free hand. She was tightly pressed between him and Gertie now as everyone crowded over the note. 

Everything is going to change. You have to get out. Follow the White Rabbit when it arrives. Use the grief serum immediately if you are stung. Trust your gut and the people in the room with you now. No one else. Help will be waiting. 

Then, scrawled in pencil again in the bottom right corner were four letters. 

BYLH


	13. BYLH

TW* mentions blood and suicide

Aussie stared at the paper as voices swirled around her. If she hadn't had a firm grip on Gertie's hand and Gally's thick arm she felt as though she might have floated through the ceiling or fallen through the floor. While the others were focused on the more foreboding elements of the note, she kept staring at two words. 

White Rabbit. 

It was as if those two simple words had walked into her mind with a baseball bat and rung her bell. Something was rattling around in there now that hadn't been before. 

"Aussie?"

At the sound of her name her eyes flicked up and she looked around, trying to tell who spoke to her. 

"Huh?" She asked, releasing her bottom lip she didn't realize she'd been biting. 

"Well? What do you think?" Georgia asked. 

"I - um, I don't know," she said softly. 

Her eyes landed on White Rabbit again and she felt like she was shoulder deep, rooting around the bottom of a box for some lost item. 

"Well, yeah, none of us know anything," Georgia scoffed. "But there has to be something here that makes sense, right?"

"I keep stock of all the medical supplies and I have no idea what 'grief serum' is," Gertie repeated herself in case Aussie had missed it earlier. She seemed really zoned out. 

"I'm guessing the things in the maze would be things that would sting you, so that kind of holds out hope, doesn't it?" Joan asked. "They might not kill you. You might get the chance to get back here and get an antidote."

"Mmm yeah, lovely! I'll be the first to go walking in the maze tomorrow," was Georgia's response to that. 

"Except we don't have this grief serum," Gertie reminded them. 

The three of them carried on about the monsters and stings and serums but Aussie and Gally stayed quiet, both of them looking at two different things on the paper until Aussie rested her head against his arm. There was a small splat noise. A red dot appearing on the table next to the paper. A drop of blood. 

An icy wave rippled through Aussie as unwanted memories flooded in. The wet, heavy scent of iron in the air. She looked just past the edge of the table where she knew she didn't want to look. Blood on the floor, her shoe squelching the congealed surface of it as she took a step back. 

"Aussie, your lip is bleeding," Gertie said but Aussie was already pulling away from them, a wild look in her eyes. 

"The blood," Aussie said in a terrified whisper. 

All she saw was the worst moment of her life played out in front of her again. The pool of thick blood on the floor, congealed like gravy left out too long. She had to step in it to reach Mary as she lay pale and lifeless on the floor. With that much blood Aussie should have known better, known that she was already gone, but she still had to try and save her. She stepped into the blood, falling to her knees in it beside her friend as she checked for a pulse that had long since stopped. 

The blood lasted for days. It got everywhere when her and Thena brought Mary out of the basement all by themselves to give her a proper burial. Then they had to clean it all up, and the more they tried to clean it the more it seemed to get everywhere. Stains stayed and had to be painted over, clothes had to be burned. It was the Maze's chilling reminder that not even in death could you escape. 

Gally reached for the still reeling Aussie, softly saying her name, but she wrenched her hand away and fled up the stairs. At first he was frozen, shocked that she had recoiled from his touch like that, but quickly choked down the ache in his chest as he went to follow her. 

"Gally wait!" Gertie said as she stood in his way, not minding that he could run her over without breaking his stride. "It's probably about Mary and Aussie told us she'd rather be left alone when it comes to Mary."

He didn't even waste his time telling her how dumb that was, that there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell he'd let her be alone with that, he just brushed right past her and started taking the stairs three at a time. 

Once he reached the top he heard running water and made a sharp turn for the bathroom where he found Aussie in the shower, fully clothed, scrubbing at herself while crying. 

"Aussie. Aussie, look at me," he tried to coax her. 

"I have to get the blood off!" She cried as her hands rubbed her arms, neck and face as if she were covered head to toe in it. 

"Ok! Ok," Gally played along. "I want to help you, show me where it is."

"It's-!" Aussie looked down at herself, checking her hands, arms, body and legs. "It- it was there. I swear it was there."

"It's alright," Gally said as he reached over and turned off the faucet. 

When he straightened up he was met with her sad, scared, thundercloud blue eyes searching his as she stood there dripping wet, her clothes clinging to her thin body. 

"Did I go crazy?" She asked him. 

He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her. 

"No," he answered as he dried her face. "You reacted sanely to the insane world we live in."

Her gaze was fixed on him with such intensity he couldn't look directly at her because if he did he might do something crazy like-

Like what? Pull her closer with that towel and kiss her? He was actually having thoughts of kissing her now?

He looked down and tried to dislodge that thought before he said anything else to her. 

"Look," he cleared his throat. "You've still got a concussion, you should go rest." 

He used the towel to brush a tear from her cheek. 

"I think you're right," she said with a heavy exhale. "Will you stay with me though? I don't want to be alone."

"Of course," he agreed quickly and four letters flashed across his mind. 

BYLH


	14. Found Meaning

Song suggestion: No One is to Blame- Mindy Smith

It was dark when Gally was awakened by two little hands pressed to his chest. 

"Gally, wake up! I remember!" Aussie cried excitedly as she repeatedly pressed him into the mattress, bouncing him like a ball. 

He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep but it was difficult to shake off the grogginess. He rubbed his eyes till he saw stars, and when those finally cleared he saw Aussie leaning over him with a clarity and madness in her eyes. Her hair was crimped and wild looking from it being wet when she went to sleep.

"What is it?" He sighed as he propped himself up on his elbows. 

"White Rabbit!" She grinned as she squeezed his wrist. "It's from a book called Alice In Wonderland. A little girl sees a white rabbit in a waistcoat with a pocket watch and follows him and she ends up falling down the rabbit hole into Wonderland."

She stared down at him so happily but he had no idea what any of it was supposed to mean. He hoped she might have an idea on that, but if she did she wasn't sharing it. 

"Ok, so," he drew the words out hoping to prompt her to go on. "What do you think that means?"

Her expression fell ever so slightly.   
"I... am not sure-but! I remembered!" 

A faint, pitying smile pulled at the corner of his mouth as he fully sat up. How terrible it must be to finally regain old memories just for them to be equally as cryptic as the rest of this place. 

"Maybe it means there's going to be someone or something that will show us the way out of here, lead us down a rabbit hole of some sort, a way out of the maze... what do you think?" She asked him earnestly. 

His eyes had adjusted to dim light in the room, enough to see her fairly clearly. His grogginess had lowered his inhibitions and he was now brave enough to gaze directly into her eyes. 

"I think you're right," he said as he brushed her wild hair back over her shoulder. "Because-"

Because.   
The thought almost made an auditory click as it dawned on him. The B in BYLH stood for Because! 

"Aussie, remember at the bottom of the note, the letters BYLH?" He asked her as his hand now gripped her shoulder. 

She looked confused for a moment, her eyes moving in a thoughtful arc.   
"Yeah, I think so."

"They're not a persons initials, they're initials for words in a sentence. The B is for Because," he explained his own revelation to her. 

Her eyes lit up.   
"You must have written it," she reasoned excitedly, shifting to get more comfortable on the side of the bed, her thigh resting heavily against his. 

"You don't think I wrote the whole note?" He asked her, his hand coming down off her shoulder and resting in his lap. 

"I don't know," she admitted with a shrug. "It just felt like the note was written to you, not by you, if that makes sense. It just didn't sound like you," she explained. 

"Maybe I sounded different before I forgot everything," he said quietly, the thought wasn't a pleasant one. 

"Maybe... I don't know," Aussie agreed sadly. "But I remembered White Rabbit which was part of the typed message, you remembered something handwritten."

Suddenly her face seemed to light up and Gally was almost disappointed that it was just the dawn finally starting to break. 

"Oh my god, I know what we should do," she exclaimed as she briefly placed her hand on his shoulder close to his neck, her fingers grazing his skin above his collar. He was awake now.   
"We'll compare your handwriting to the writing on the note!" She was practically bouncing. "Where's the note?"

He almost grimaced.   
"We hid it in the basement," he informed her. 

Her eyes widened slightly as she swallowed, but then she took a deep breath and her gaze became steely.   
"Ok, let's go."

"Are you sure-"

"I am sure. We gotta start figuring things out," she assured him before grabbing his hand and attempting to haul him out of his bed. 

He smirked when he realized she couldn't budge him in the slightest. However he pretended she was accomplishing part of it as he got up and allowed her to drag him quickly and quietly through the house. She grabbed a pencil from the kitchen and then they headed toward the basement door. 

Her grip on his hand tightened as they stopped in front of it. For a moment they just stood there. Gally wasn't going to rush her to go down there before she was ready. He looked down at her and squeezed her hand in return. She looked up at him with a small smile as she drew in a shaky breath. Then she reached out and opened the door. They descended the steps together, Gally allowing her to set their pace, ready to go along with whatever she decided to do. 

"I know it was all in my head earlier," she said once they were half way down the stairs. 

Gally couldn't tell if she were really talking to him or to herself. 

"Maybe it was the concussion, maybe it was the White Rabbit memory trying to come back... but I know the blood isn't down there anymore," she said firmly. 

"Still," Gally said softly. "I think you're really brave coming down here."

They were at the bottom the stairs now and she looked at the dark brown patch on the floor directly. She took another deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. 

"Where's the note?" She asked. 

He gave her hand a light squeeze before letting it go. He crossed the room and pulled a brick out of the wall revealing a hiding place behind it. He pulled a small tin out of it and replaced the brick before coming over to the table with Aussie. He brought the note out and unfolded it, setting it on the table, typed side up, the BYLH staring up at them from the corner. Gally was surprised when Aussie flipped the note over to the side with just the warning on it. 

"This, copy this here," she pointed at the warning before handing him the pencil. 

He took it and began writing. He'd only gotten the first two words done and could already tell the writing wasn't his. 

"You didn't write that part," Aussie observed it too, but instead of sounding disappointed she sounded almost pleased. "Well that's a good sign, isn't it? Someone else made sure to give you a warning. There must really be help waiting for us then."

He hadn't thought of that and was happy she was there to come up with that idea. There was some comfort in that. He looked back down at the note and flipped it over again, his eyes drawn to the four letters again. The handwriting seemed different than on the other side. He wrote each capital letter beneath the originals and felt his heart soar when the hand writing matched. 

"Aussie, look!" He said as he wrote them a second time for good measure. 

She had been looking up toward the basement door but returned her attention to him when he spoke. 

"You were right, I did write this," he said happily as he looked up at her from his hunched position over the table from writing. 

She smiled back at him.   
"You said the B is for 'Because', right?" She asked to which he nodded affirmatively as he straightened up. "Ok, so what might the other letters stand for?

She took the pencil from him and flipped the paper over to the more blank side. She wrote down the word 'Because' and then a Y, L, and H evenly spaced across the page. 

"Oh, god. I don't know," Gally shrugged apologetically. 

"That's ok," Aussie encouraged. "You remembered the first word when you said it to me. Let's just throw around some words, maybe one will click for you."

"Ok, let's try it," Gally agreed. 

Aussie tied up her messy hair into an even messier bun to keep it out of the way. 

"Alright so a Y word," Aussie said as she hovered the pencil underneath the Y. 

"The only word that would make sense would be 'You', wouldn't it?" Gally asked as he began pacing. 

Aussie looked up thoughtfully.   
"Because you, because yellow, because young, because yet..."

"I think the Y is 'you'," Gally nodded. 

"Ok, 'Because you..' and now an L word. L, L, L... looked, left, lied, lived, lifted, let, lead..." Aussie had begun writing down the words she came up with when she started to notice something about the paper. 

She held it up closer to the light and examined it as Gally kept pacing. 

"None of those words seem right," he said, his back turned to her so he didn't notice what she was up to. 

He wanted to think of more L words that could reasonably come after 'Because you'. He had one that slipped so quietly into his mind that it felt like it had always been there, and it felt right. But it was embarrassing! Still, this was important, he couldn't keep them in the dark about something that could be informative, no matter how the word Love would come across. 

This was a message he had left himself, these letters and the words they stood for were for no one but him. So what would he want to tell himself? What clue could he give, what question could he answer? 

Why would you give up, not only your life, but even your memories of your life and your identity to come to a giant maze full of secrets and monsters? The answer had been staring him in the face since the moment he woke up in that box. He looked over his shoulder and a strange peace descended on him. 

Because You Love Her.


	15. Heebie Jeebies

Lost Control- Alan Walker and Sorana

When Gally's eyes landed on Aussie the thoughts of love dissipated like a mist. His brows furrowed and his head cocked to the side when he saw her hunched over the paper, rubbing the pencil over it in quick, broad strokes. She'd covered about half the page in lead already. 

"What are you doing?" He questioned as he strode over to her. 

She looked up at him and it took a second for her eyes to focus properly. 

"I know this looks crazy but I promise it makes sense," she assured him a bit manically. "You know how... when you have a note pad or a stack of papers and you write a note on the - on the top one, the top piece of paper, the pressure kind of copies the words to the page underneath? And when you rub a pencil over it you can see the words?"

He did know exactly what she meant and his eyes widened. There could be more to this note than initially met the eye. He leaned over her to see what had come to light so far. 

"It's not easy with the creases from the folding, but there's definitely something here, and Gally?" She stared up at him with a spooked look in her eyes. "I think it's ... my handwriting."

"Your handwriting?" He repeated as his brows furrowed deeply. "How is that even possible?"

"I dunno. I don't know if it is mine, or if it just looks like mine, or how it could be possible-" she rubbed her forehead then ran her hand over her mouth. 

"It's ok, it's ok," he said as he placed his hand on her back in an effort to calm her down. "That's not important right now, let's first see what it says, alright?"

"Ok," she agreed with a sigh. She bent over and continued to color in the page. 

Gally kept his hand on her back as she worked. Something caught his eye and he looked up to see a shaft of light coming down from up stairs. 

"Did someone come down here?" He asked her absently. 

"I thought I heard the door open earlier," she confirmed without stopping her work. 

Gally shrugged it off as Gertie or one of the others checking on them. Maybe they hadn't closed the door all the way behind them when they came down. He soon forgot all about it, thoroughly distracted by, not only the mystery of the note, but that he was alone with Aussie, breaking the No Touching Rule. 

"Ok, finished," Aussie slapped the pencil down on the table, the side of her palm covered in grey lead. She stood straight and held the note up.   
Gally's hand traveled up her back to rest on her shoulder as he leaned in for a better look. He held one side of the paper and she held the other as they leaned further under the light, trying to get just the right angle to see the faint words. 

Chan el or Pa e  
Th is not w t I si ned u for. Y u   
dec ve me. I ver wa ed an ne to et hurt. I ca t do t is an more. 

At this point neither of them noticed the light begin to sway. 

If you do t stop im d tly I will be   
f rced to t ke act on. W t yo re do ng to th se kids wro g and I can't al ow it to co tinue. Th trials must end ow

Trials? What was it saying about trials? Aussie could hardly see with the shadows moving across the page. 

Wait. Aussie looked up, wondering where these shadows were coming from. She was just in time to see a metallic claw, like some kind of robotic chameleon foot, reach out and grab the top of the paper. She followed it upwards and saw it was attached to an equally robotic body, like some kind of toy insect. It was hanging from the light bulb and it was trying to steal the note. 

Aussie didn't let out a stereotypical high pitched scream, but she certainly did scream, startling Gally half to death. Luckily she had sense enough to wrench the note away from the thing, it's little claw keeping just a tiny scrap of paper. She had grabbed ahold of the front of Gally's shirt by the time he had noticed and reacted to the thing as well, and was pulling him toward the stairs faster than he thought she could go. 

"What is that what is that whatisthat??!!" She yelled as they thundered up the steps, the note clutched protectively to her chest. 

Gally slammed the door behind them, hoping the thing wasn't faster than them and was now trapped in the basement. They both stood there, breathing heavily but trying to be quiet and listen for whatever that was. Gally looked up, making sure there was nothing on the ceiling here. He wondered if that thing had friends. His question was answered when Aussie screamed again, kicking her leg violently and sending a metallic blur slamming into the wall of the hallway. Unfazed, the little beetle corrected itself and made a beeline for Aussie again. With another, smaller yet equally horrified, yell she tucked tail and ran for the front door. 

Gally was so confused but quickly shook it off and caught up to Aussie and her pursuer outside. She had quickly balled up the note and stuffed it down the front of her bra as she ran but that thing was still after her with a single minded determination. Gally was able to get a good kick in and the thing went toppling head over arse into the grass. 

"Where'd it go? Where did it go?" Aussie asked as she clutched the back of his shirt with one hand, the other placed over the note in its hiding place. 

Gally kept her behind him as he looked for any sign of the thing coming back. 

Aussie was not relishing the thought that this thing might be the one that stings people and there was none of this grief serum to be had if it was. There was a scuttling noise in the grass behind her and she freaked out. A few frantic seconds later found her half way up Gally and showing no sign of stopping till she was on his head. The whole thing was not graceful as he was trying to watch his own back while helping her climb higher onto him, they were throwing each other's balance off with all the moving. 

The spectacle did not go unnoticed by the girls who were now up and about doing their chores. 

"What is going on here?!" Joan yelled as she ran up to them spear in hand. 

"Watch out!" Aussie yelled, one leg thrown over Gally's shoulder and her arms wrapped around the other one. "There's a - a little robot thing, it's attacking me for the note!"

Joan looked at her like she was crazy... but who could blame her?

"Ah! There it is!" Aussie yelled as she pointed. "Get it! Getitgetitgetit!!!"

Gally held onto Aussie as best he could and quickly backed away as the little gremlin charged again. Joan was shocked to see they were telling the truth but quickly took action. The thing was just leaping up at Gally and Aussie was screaming when Joan's spear came hurtling through the air, pinning the thing to the ground between Gally's legs. 

Almost all the girls in the garden were now gathered round the scene. Aussie craned her neck to look at the thing. It was going through some kind of death throes of spitting sparks and pathetically waving limbs till it zonked out completely. 

"What the heck?!" Gertie yelled as she bounded up for a closer look at it. 

"Are you ok? You good?" Aussie asked Gally, rubbing the top of his head to let the dazed looking boy know she was talking to him. 

"I'm good, are you good?" He replied, squeezing her thigh that was thrown over his shoulder as she was splayed across his shoulders. 

"I think so," she answered. "Do you guys see any more of those things?"

They stood there like some kind of deformed totem pole as the girls looked around for more robots. 

The girls all answered the same, no more creepy critters as Aussie had decided to call them. The rest of the guards encircled them with spears ready. Only then did Aussie release her death grip on Gally. He helped her gently to the ground and saw her blush. 

"I'm so embarrassed," she admitted. "That was so cowardly of me, I'm so sorry."

"No it wasn't, we... we were both protecting the note," he said as he caught his breath. 

"Right," Aussie dived a hand down her shirt and produced the extra crumpled note and sighed. "They know about it now."

"You're never going in that basement ever again, are you?" He asked her. 

She just stared at him for a second and then the giggles broke out.


	16. What is Normal?

With the guards watching out for them, Aussie sat down with Joan, Gertie, Georgia and Gally. The bugs kept crawling around the garden and they all agreed they would keep doing so as long as they had the note. 

They were crammed under a makeshift umbrella to block out any unseen prying eyes as they memorized the typed note and tried to decipher as much of the hidden message as they could. It was more difficult now that it was more crumpled than before. The gist of it seemed to be that someone was not happy with what was going on, that something bad was being done and this person wanted it to stop. Their best guess was it had something to do with them being there in the maze, that maybe they were the ones in this 'trial'. 

Joan suggested that the note be destroyed where the creepy critters could see. That way they wouldn't get their little pinchers on it, but also might leave them alone. She was afraid that if the little ones couldn't do their job something bigger might come along to finish it. They balled up the paper and burned it. The creepy critters seemed somewhat miffed as they leisurely turned and left the garden, crawling along the maze walls. 

"You really never saw those bef-"

"Never," Joan answered Gally as the five of them stood there watching. 

"I'm starving," Aussie remarked before turning and heading to the kitchen without another word. 

Gertie went over and resumed investigating the dead creepy critter, pulling the spear from it and prodding it cautiously before scooping the thing up. 

"Hey, what are you doing with that?" Gally asked her clearly distressed. "Put it down."

"Are you serious?" She questioned with a raised brow. "Don't you want to know how it works?"

"Not really. Now put it down before you hurt yourself," he reached to take it from her but she evaded him. 

"We could unlock some of their secrets!" She said as she scampered off. 

"Yeah and what kind of trouble could that get us into?!" He called after her. 

He was about to pursue her but his stomach growled. He would have to deal with her later, right now he needed food.

Most of the girls had already eaten breakfast so, to Gally's relief, the cafeteria area of the Garden was not full of girls at the moment. They started their day at sunrise the usual way, not down in a basement figuring out a cryptic note and being attacked by robots. He could see Aussie in the covered kitchen area no doubt getting food for herself. 

Because you love her.   
The words came back to him then. Maybe the her wasn't Aussie he thought, even though his gut thoroughly disagreed with him.

He had no memory of writing BYLH on that note but he obviously had, which meant one thing in his mind. There was the old Gally, and the Gally he was now. Which was also true of Aussie, there was the before and after versions of everyone here. So he decided to investigate. Old Gally had loved Old Aussie, and New Gally was going to figure out why. Maybe New Gally wouldn't really love New Aussie. All he knew was he wanted to have his own feelings for his own reasons, not just these left over ones from someone else who owned this body before him. 

He walked to the kitchen, watching out for creepy crawlers on his way there. 

"That Gertie is a nutcase, do you know what she did?" Gally said as he came up behind her.

She glanced at him over her shoulder, her arm bent at a weird angle. "What?" She asked.

Gally paused, his head cocked sideways, wondering what the heck Aussie herself was doing, and stepped closer. She had a towel down the front of her shirt.

"The note got pencil lead on me!" she said defensively as she turned away from him and continued cleaning herself.

Gally chuckled as he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms.

"What?" Aussie asked again as she finally turned around, tossing the towel at him. "What did Gertie do?"

"She grabbed that dead robot thing and is probably doing some kind of weird autopsy on it," he said, catching the towel and tossing it onto the counter.

"Guess what? I am not surprised," Aussie smiled as she walked past him to poke around in the fridge. 

She collected some juice, a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter on the opposite counter.

"What do you want for breakfast?" She asked him as she made a peanut butter sandwich for herself.

"I'm getting used to that sludge we usually have, is that all gone?" He asked. 

"Ugh, yes that's all gone. You masochist," she muttered before she licked the peanut butter off the knife. "But I'll tell you what. Have something else for breakfast and I'll have good stew ready for you by lunch time."

"You can cook?" 

"Yeah- I told you I could," she reminded him as she went about the kitchen with her sandwich in one hand and gathering ingredients with the other.  
"Now, how do you feel about celery? Personally, I hate it with a passion. It's just spicy water with hair in it, but if you like it I'll put it in."

She'd made him laugh again, a bigger laugh this time. It softened his features and made him look younger. She saw one of his bottom teeth stood taller than the rest and she couldn't help but think it was cute. Aussie loved being able to make people laugh, in fact, she didn't feel like she was good friends with someone until she'd made them laugh good and hard at least once. 

"I don't think I could eat celery ever again after hearing that," he admitted. 

He straightened up and walked over to make a sandwich for himself, Aussie fluttering around the kitchen like a peanut butter scented fairy. She'd collected vegetables, a cutting board, a strainer and a knife, juggling it all with her sandwich till she'd finally finished it. She wondered why he was sticking around the kitchen with her. 

"Do you want help?" He asked as he sat on the counter by the sink. 

"Nah," she sighed as she got a potato squeaky clean. "I'm using this to procrastinate doing something else."

Gally picked up one of the potatoes.   
"Did you guys grow these here?" He asked. 

"Yeah," she nodded as she started washing carrots next. 

"So, what are you procrastinating?" He finally asked. 

She looked up at him for a moment and then her hands stopped moving as she squinted at him. She couldn't help but feel like he was trying to trick her somehow. She quickly brushed it off, however. 

"What do you think?" She shrugged. "It's about my height, angry, at the bottom of a pit right now."

"Thena," he stated, his dislike clear in his voice even with just one word.

Aussie let out a frustrated groan of a sigh as she scrubbed the carrot with added vigor. 

"What the heck am I going to do about her?! I obviously can't have her running around trying to murder you, but I just-" she stopped when she felt the lump in her throat, gripping the edge of the sink. "She was the one who took care of everything after what happened with Mary and I just... I can't let anything happen to her either."

She straightened up and tried to recompose herself.   
"Don't worry though," she tried to smile at Gally as he towered above her. "I still won't let anything happen to you."

His gaze was unreadable but intense and Aussie felt her heart flutter for a second. But then he looked away and sighed before turning back with a softer look. 

"Can we talk about... anything else?" His expression immediately turned panicked and he reached out to put his hand on her shoulder.   
"I don't mean to say I don't want to talk about these things that are obviously important to you," he rapidly backpedaled. "I just mean that... I don't think we've had a normal conversation. We're always talking about Thena trying to kill me, or the girl who killed herself, or the monsters in the maze, the makers watching us with the bug things- it's just... tiring, ya know?"

Aussie pursed her lips in a thin, pitiful smile.   
"Yeah, I get it," she nodded. 

She wasn't sure what to say after that though. The never ending stream of crisis always gave them a topic for easy discussion. Without one she wasn't sure what he'd be interested in hearing from her. She felt nervous, she didn't want to say anything stupid, she wanted to say something that would keep him there with her. She wanted to say something that would make him like her, but she had no idea what that could be.

"Honestly, I don't know what a normal conversation is, though," Gally admitted. 

"I was thinking the same thing," Aussie chuckled. "It's so weird that this is all I've know for years, and all I can remember, and still I know it's not normal.   
"But, like," Aussie stared wistfully out at the meadow. "How can families that live in nice houses, drive their cars to work, and go out to dinner and a movie on the weekend exist out there while we're in here? It just doesn't feel like those two worlds can exist at the same time."

She glanced up at Gally, expecting him to be staring at her like she was crazy. After all, that's what most of the girls here had told her to her face whenever she overshared like that. He was staring at her but she didn't know what the expression on his face meant. It was almost neutral which was the look people gave her when they were trying to control themselves and not make their judgement obvious. She bit her lips with a blush and went back to washing the few remaining vegetables. 

'Good going, Aussie,' she chided herself when Gally remained silent. 

She noticed him move in her peripheral vision, he had turned to look over his shoulder making it possible for Aussie to look at him unnoticed. 

He was so large. He was broad and strong looking while also having a softness to him. His arms and legs were thick but not bulging with individually defined muscles and sinewy tendons. He reminded her of a bear. Bears could knock your face off with a half hearted swat, but you'd be willing to risk it just to give one a hug. 

"Are you the one who put the bottles in the tree?" He asked, breaking her out of her out of her stupor. 

"Huh? Oh, yeah," she had to clear the fog of her daydreams and right the path of her wandering thoughts. 

He looked at her and raised his brows as if asking for an explanation. 

"The tree died not long after... you-know-what happened, and I just couldn't bear another thing disappearing from our already small world, so I didn't let Thena or Joan chop it down," Aussie began talking again despite how well it went the last time. "Whenever I walked to my house in the evening, the sun would hit just so that the shadow of the tree hit the maze wall. And, I dunno, it was like... I could pretend the wall was the sky. Like, there was a tree on the horizon and just sky beyond it, no wall, no maze, just freedom. But since the tree was dead and all it was more depressing than inspiring, but I thought if the sun was hitting it just right and we had all these empty glass bottles from the supplies, maybe I could make it pretty. Distract from the fact that it was dead. Show that it wasn't worthless or pointless just because it didn't do what was expected of it anymore."

Brilliant. More heartfelt, illogical verbal vomit. 

"The lights remind me of something. I can't put my finger on it," Gally said, not exactly diving to her depths, but not making her feel like a blundering idiot either. "I can picture it, but the words seem like fake words- baby talk."

"Aurora borealis?" Aussie supplied and saw his eyes light up. She'd never seen them do that before and her own widened slightly in response. 

"That's it!" He snapped his fingers. "How'd you know?"

Because that's what it reminded her of, it was why she did it in the first place. 

"Because it's something I can remember."


	17. Just Another Crisis

Gally and Aussie had a nice, normal chat for a while after that, but then the stew was ready to cook nice and slow and Aussie couldn't procrastinate anymore. She headed to the pits to talk to Thena again and Joan collected Gally for training that day. 

Joan wore the smallest of smiles the whole time it took them to walk over to the training area and it was really disconcerting for Gally. 

"What are you grinning about?" He broke down and asked her, his curiosity finally outweighing his apprehension. 

Her grin just grew and she shook her head.   
"Nothing," she said as if there definitely was something. 

Gally rolled his eyes.   
"Are you going to be weird all day then? Or can we cut to the chase?"

"Honestly?" She asked as a dark glint passed her eyes putting him on edge.   
"I was just thinking of all the ways I'd hurt you if you break Aussie's heart."

"If I-" Gally's brows shot up as his mouth gaped for a second. 

"Oh, shut up," Joan scoffed. "She gives you the same moonstruck cow eyes she gives the damn dog, and she loves that dog more than herself."

"Well, that would be her choice, right?" He tried to remain composed and not stutter after hearing her say that. 

She looked at him sharply, the good natured teasing dying instantly.   
"You can't sew yourself to her hip and then not expect her to get attached to you," she said as she turned to him, stopping before they could be overheard by the girls who had grouped together and were stretching and warming up. "While her soft and gooey ways make as much sense to me as a screen door on a submarine I still don't want to see her get hurt any worse than she already has been."

Gally was tempted to pointed out that he wasn't intentionally trying to get Aussie to like him, and that he wasn't responsible for anyone's feelings but his own, but he also understood where Joan was coming from. No matter what kind of personal relationships these girls had, they'd probably protect each other fiercely from any outside threats. And right now, being the only male there, it would be easy for them to take an "us against them" -or in this case "us against him- mentality. 

"Well," he sighed with a shrug. "We're on the same page then. I don't want anyone getting hurt."

Joan eyed him for a few seconds without saying anything. What ever she scrutinized must have satisfied her. 

"Alright then, let's get to work."

Gally started feeling awkward again when they approached the group of girls. One with long auburn hair in a high ponytail flashed him a smile of straight white teeth. He wanted to turn around and leave. But he forced himself to stay. 

"We start with 5 laps around the garden, but you can do more or less till you figure out where you're at," Joan said before starting to stretch. "We usually do it earlier in the day too, but.."

"He's no runner," the girl who smiled at him said with a grin that bordered on flirtatious as she did a deep lunge. "That's a weight lifter right there."

Gally looked at Joan like she might offer guidance or save him herself. 

"Maybe so," Joan said as she did her stretches like a military veteran. "But he booked it out the maze faster than I've ever gone, so he's got some potential."  
She glanced at him, noticing he wasn't doing anything.   
"You forget how to stretch? Oh, sorry, that's actually a possibility. My bad. You need me to-"

"Nah I got it," Gally assured her before taking a few paces away from the girls. He stretched but felt agonizingly self conscious about it, especially when that girl edged her way over to him. 

"Hi, I'm Hedy," she smiled as she stretched her arms above her head before reaching down to her toes. 

"Gally," he said shortly as he averted his eyes from her figure. 

She giggled.   
"Well duh. We all know the name of the one boy here in the garden by now," she sidled closer and Gally wondered if it would look normal to just take off running right then. "It's nice that Aussie finally let you off the leash so the rest of us can get to know you."

A twinge of anger burned in his chest without his mind telling it to. He didn't say anything to that, mostly because he had no idea what to say, but he also didn't want to encourage her to talk to him. But why? Why not get to know the other girls? Maybe that would help him figure out this thing he had for Aussie. 

"Hedy, control yourself," Joan scolded. "Back of the pack."

Hedy shrugged, glancing at Gally over her dainty shoulder. "The view is better from back there anyway."

"Like a cat in heat," Joan mumbled with a shake of her head as she came up beside Gally. "First lap is a warm up. Just keep pace with me if you can, and after that you can push as hard as you want."

Gally nodded, more comfortable with her company than Hedy's. She took off and Gally found his stride to stay beside her. 

"Running is a great time for thinking. I don't usually talk, hope that's ok," she told him. 

"Perfect," he nodded as he found his breathing rhythm. 

There was a well worn path along the maze walls made by years of trampling feet. They rounded the first corner and ahead was the area that was dense with trees. The path continued as they were submerged in the cool shade for a time. They rounded that corner and after a while they spilled out of the trees and back into the sunlight. Up ahead Gally saw the bottle tree and remembered the pits were just beyond it. 

He wondered if he'd see Aussie there if she was still dealing with Thena. He shook his head to try and dislodge the hope he'd get to see her. He glanced up at the bottle tree as they were passing under it and remembered what Aussie had said about it. A dead tree existed in beauty because she felt sad for it. He didn't notice the smile forming on his own lips.

When he looked down from the tree he felt a snap like a rubber-band in his chest as he saw Aussie up ahead. She was standing over the pit with her fists on her hips. Gally could gear their argument over his and Joan's panting breaths. His legs begged him to go to her and make sure she was ok, but he would probably only make things worse. 

Still, his gaze lingered on Aussie for as long as it could. When he faced forward again he was a few paces behind Joan. He quickly caught up and resumed her pace, ignoring the sideways glance she gave him. 

"You good?" She asked. 

"Uh-huh."

Aussie had been so engrossed in her argument with Thena she hadn't even noticed Gally run right by her. She was far too agitated. 

"A counsel is a good idea," Aussie was saying. "One person shouldn't have all the power or burden of responsibility. You've done great so far, I'm not saying you haven't. I want you out of that pit and on that counsel! You're just gonna have to earn our trust that all that murder business is out of your head."

Thena gave her no assurances it was, rather she was convinced she could never return to any semblance of normal with the rest of them now that she'd been reduced to the pit for so long. They'd never respect her again. The ever soft Aussie had demolished her in front of everyone. 

Disappointed with the results of the day Aussie found ways to keep busy, blowing out all her steam on useful chores here, there and everywhere. The only girls who didn't see her that day were the ones who worked on the chopping block where they did the slaughtering. 

She was working in the kitchen, making the regular crew nervous as sin as she helped them prepare lunch. Gally came around, drenched in sweat and ruddy in the face, ready for that stew that had been making the kitchen smell delicious all day. Aussie gave it to him with a small smile that didn't reach her eyes and went back to work.

Feeling a little more than slightly dejected, Gally turned to look for a place to sit since he obviously wasn't going to get to eat with Aussie. Gertie was at one table and Joan at another so he had to pick one. He went with Gertie so he could ask her about the creepy critter she'd been dissecting. 

She nodded at him as he sat across from her.   
"You look like crap," she said around a mouthful. 

He should have expected that by now but it still took him aback for a second.   
"At least I have a good reason to. What's your excuse?" He shot back. 

She almost looked proud behind her raised brows. 

"Hey!" Hedy greeted as she plopped down on the seat next to Gally. 

Gertie looked at her before her eyes slid over to Gally, silently asking what was going on. He gave her a quick look which he prayed she would understand as save me! 

"He- hey Hedy, glad you're here," Gertie began. "You're good with techie kind of stuff right? You wanna take a look at that robot with me after lunch? I could use your help."

Gally shook his head and looked heavenward.   
"Don't come crying to me when his little robot pals come for you next," Gally said before diving into his lunch, almost keeling right over from how good it was. 

Aussie had already decided to do Gally's laundry after lunch since his new clothes were all sweaty and gross now. What she wasn't prepared for was seeing Hedy sitting by him, her long shiny hair swishing as she talked with him. Gertie's eyes kept ping-ponging between the two in total confusion. 

He's allowed to talk to the other girls, Aussie told herself later as she scrubbed his shirt a little aggressively. It was good for him to get along with everyone and have plenty of friends. Even really really pretty ones. She scrubbed too hard and decapitated one of the buttons on the collar. It went flying into the wash bin and Aussie dove in after it, drenching her sleeves and the front of her shirt as she tried to capture the button. 

She carried the button in her pocket all day, planning to sew it back on once the shirt was dry. She ended up doing it as she sat at dinner. If she did it any later she wouldn't have enough light outside. 

"I thought I said I'd wash my clothes," Gally said as he sat with her, Joan and Gertie, grateful there was no room for Hedy. 

"I needed distraction," she admitted. "Thought it would be helpful."

"Did you rip the button off to have something to do then?" He asked. 

She gave a small laugh but he was still glad for it, she'd seemed down all day after talking with Thena. Still, he wished she was being her bright eyed and philosophical self, the normalcy of it would have been a comfort after his day. 

"How was your -" Aussie had looked up when she started to ask him about his day but a blur of motion caught her eye. 

Suddenly she set down his shirt on the table and got up so fast she knocked her chair over. 

"Aussie! What the-" Gertie began to say but the older girl was already bolting for the field. 

That's when they noticed a dark figure running for the maze door which had started its groanings and rumblings as the doors started to slide closed. The three people she'd left in her wake shared a look before following suit, chasing after Aussie as she chased after Thena.


	18. The Counsel

Joan went flying by Aussie, obviously the superior runner, but Aussie could tell that not even she would reach Thena in time. The guards who had been at the pit were closing in as well but still not fast enough. Joan was still way too far behind by the time Thena had crossed the threshold of the maze. Aussie's lungs and muscles were burning and she hated herself so much right then for not being a better runner, but she wasn't going to give up even if she dropped dead at the doors. 

Joan had reached the threshold and stood there yelling through the ever diminishing passage way, gesturing desperately for Thena to come back. 

'Listen to her, listen to her,' Aussie begged Thena in her head. 

And then Gally blazed past her. He didn't slow down and he would have gone straight into the maze if Joan hadn't caught the back of his shirt. They both stumbled in between the doors but she managed to haul him back out. If Aussie went a little faster maybe she could see Thena one last time at the very least. Based on how close the doors were now... she wouldn't be making it back. 

Aussie kept pushing, she didn't give up until she ran smack into the doors just as they sealed together. She pounded it with her fist uselessly before her knees buckled. Gally was quick to catch her as she gasped like a fish out of water. 

"Oh no," Gertie panted as she began searching Aussie's pockets. "Sit her down, lean her against the wall."

Gally did so, crouching by her side. 

"Here's your inhaler, Aussie," Gertie said as she held the device to her mouth and gave a puff of medicine when Aussie inhaled again. 

"Gally, what were you thinking?" Joan asked him, hands on her hips. 

"What was I thinking?" Gally repeated in shock as he straightened up. "I could have gone in and brought her back out! What were you thinking stopping me?"

Gertie gave Aussie another puff with the inhaler as the two fought above their heads. 

"We just would have lost two people to the maze tonight instead of one," Joan shot back. "You can't be so reckless."

"She's right," Gertie agreed softly. She looked up at him with those big green eyes as if she would have missed him. 

He felt Aussie grab his ankle and he bent back down to her. Her breathing was still heavy but not so gasping anymore.   
"Aussie, I'm sorry," he told her softly. "I could have gotten her out."

Aussie shook her head.   
"No... but I.. appreciate.. that you.. wanted to try," she said, putting her little hand over his and giving a weak squeeze. "This is all... my fault."

"Excuse me?" Georgia's voice cut through the growing darkness. Quite a few of the girls had gathered around them to see what had happened. 

"I... humiliated her... she didn't feel like.. she could-" Aussie began to say but Georgia cut her off. 

"This is not your fault!" Georgia yelled as she grabbed the front of Aussie's shirt and pulled her forward. 

"Hey! Get off!" Gally yelled as he tried to tear Georgia's hands away. 

"No! It's not her fault!" Georgia yelled back. 

"I know, it's mine!" Gally hollered angrily as he pushed her away. She landed hard on her butt in the dirt. 

Everyone shut up and stared at him for a second. He took a deep breath and spoke more calmly.   
"It's my fault for being here. I've caused all your problems."

"Don't be stupid!" Georgia shook her head with a disgusted look. 

"Right, the makers are to blame for everything that's out of our control," Joan nodded. "And we can only control how we react to what they do."

"Aussie, remember. Everyone was on your side that night, we all agreed that what Thena wanted to do was wrong," Gertie reminded her and a murmur of agreements came from the girls behind her. "This was all just Thena's choice."

Aussie closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the doors, nodding as a tear made its way from the corner of her eyes. 

"Good, so we're not going to waste anymore time playing the woe is me card, right?" Georgia asked a bit harshly. 

Eyes still closed Aussie shook her head. 

"Joan, did she say anything?" Aussie asked, her voice raspy again. 

"No, she just ran."

"How did this happen?"

The guards stepped forward sheepishly.   
"We saw some of those robot things and tried to chase them off- our backs were turned just for a second and she got out somehow," one explained. 

"I'll go check the pit to see how she got out," Joan said, before taking one girls torch and heading over there.

"I'm calling a meeting," Aussie said as she scooched herself up the wall till she was standing. "Right now, as soon as I can back over there, that is."

She took short steps on wobbly knees and Gally found himself at her side, taking her arm to help her. She was going to glance at him but her eyes caught Hedy's first, her gaze kind of hard before she looked down at where Gally's hands were on her. Maybe it was the shadows playing tricks but Aussie could swear her nose curled in a slight sneer. 

"Thanks, but I can manage," Aussie said as she gently pulled her arm away from him. 

A look of pure hurt flashed across his face for a split second, totally taking her aback. She swallowed hard. 

"Aussie.." he said, like come on. "I'm .. I'm just trying to help."

"I know, but there's the rule, remember?" She said as she limped along, falling behind most of the girls till only Gertie, Georgia, and Hedy were left around her. She glanced at the latter with a twinge in her gut. 

"Yeah, it's no unnecessary touching, I think helping you walk is necessary," he countered. 

"Ok, Gertie can help me," Aussie said as she reached out and latched on to Gertie who gave Gally a confused look that mirrored his own. 

What was happening? He stopped walking altogether for a moment and Hedy did too when she noticed him. She glanced at Aussie over her shoulder before coming up to him. 

"What's that about?" She whispered. 

Gally took a deep breath, shaking his head.   
"I don't know," he sighed quietly. 

"Do you think she's actually upset with you for not going in after Thena?" She asked him. 

His brows slowly furrowed. She didn't seem upset with him when he'd said he was sorry, but she was still pulling away from him now. That was a feeling he hated. The anxiety grew in his chest wondering why this was happening, what did he do? What could he do now? 

"I don't know," he finally whispered again. 

"Well," Hedy sighed dismissively, her tone a little peppier. "No biggie. Plenty of other fish in the sea."

She looked up at him through her eyelashes and smirked before turning on her heel and resuming the walk back, swinging her hips more than before. Gally felt like walking up and tripping her, maybe a little kick to the back of her knee to make it buckle so she could eat some dirt. 

His eyes told him that Hedy was attractive, and she was obviously into him. Those two things should have made him ecstatic... shouldn't it? But there he was with his fist balled up at the sight of her and wishing instead that he could run to Aussie's side. He still had no idea why, but that's how he felt. Eventually he began moving again. He didn't trip Hedy though. 

All the girls got the seats set up for the meeting, Aussie curled up in one facing the rest of them, a far off look in her wide eyes. Hedy kept the seat next to her open and she kept glancing around. Gally stood in the shadows, leaning on the trunk of the tree and pretending he didn't see her when she spotted him. By the time they were all assembled, Joan returned. 

"You're not going to believe this," Joan said as she walked up behind Aussie, making her jump. 

"What? What is it?" Aussie asked, putting her feet down and sitting forward. "Go ahead and tell everyone."

Joan stood in front of the assembly, one hand went from her hip to the bridge of her nose as she seemed to compose herself. 

"One of those shucking robots got into the pit and dug hand holds for her," she said as her eyes focused on some invisible spot. It was as if she didn't even believe what she was saying. 

"What? How do you know?" Georgia blurted. 

"The holes were perfectly square, evenly spaced, and there were little marks like their stupid little legs all around them," Joan further explained. "That's... that's the only thing I can make of it."

"And you think Thena saw a robot build her an escape route and just decided the best use of it was to then yeet herself into the maze?" Georgia crossed her arms skeptically. 

"I don't know, you'd have to ask her," Joan snapped back. 

"Ok, ok," Aussie interjected softly. "That's fine, that explains how she got out. We can't explain her actions after that."

"So, what do we do now?" A girl asked. 

"Well," Aussie swallowed and winced at it. "I called this meeting for a few reasons. But I think that before we get too deep into it I should address one thing in particular."

A hush fell over the garden. Even the bugs seemed to shut up. 

"I want to change the way leadership is handled here," Aussie started. "With Thena, everything began and ended with her. That's not what I want- I don't want to be solely responsible for this place and all of you because... well, I know I wouldn't be the best at it-"

"Are you going to pick someone to replace you?" Someone called out. 

"Uh, no, not exactly," Aussie's rhythm was thrown off by that random outburst. Gally wanted to find the girl and tape her mouth shut.   
"I wanted to make a counsel. Multiple girls in charge of various things, but we all get together to make big decisions. That way we can discuss matters from multiple view points and collaborate on the best course."

"How do you get on the counsel?"  
"How many will be on it?"  
"Who's going to be on it?"  
Voices rang out at once but one was definitely Hedy, Gally just knew it. 

"Shut up!" Joan commanded over their chatter. "Aussie is still in charge right now as much as Thena ever was, don't forget that. She gets to choose of course."

"That doesn't seem fair," someone muttered and Gally pushed himself off the tree, fully intending to fight a girl. 

"Well, I was thinking someone from each one of the work teams," Aussie piped up somewhat timidly, realizing this was getting away from her. "So for the Guards I'd like Joan to be on the Counsel, Gertie is the only one who takes care of injuries so she'd be on it, from the gardeners we could have Lanie... et cetera.  
"Look," Aussie suddenly sounded more confident and commanding. "All I want is Joan, Georgia, and Gertie. The rest can be up to you. Nominate anyone but yourself and vote on it, we'll take 6 more people."

The girls seemed happy about this and they got out their voting supplies, jars and stones. Gally just watched Aussie as the girls made nominations and voted. She seemed detached from reality. Finally the counsel included Lanie, Hedy, the human box with a head that had been tending to the goats that one day, and three more girls he didn't recognize. Aussie looked exhausted. 

"Great, I think that's enough excitement for one night," Aussie said as she slapped her hands on the arms of her chair and stood up. "We can have another meeting tomorrow. Everyone try to get a good nights sleep."

The girls milled about but slowly started to disperse once Aussie left them behind and started making her slow and wobbly way to her house. 

Gally was confused. How was Aussie? And also, what was he supposed to do for the night? He was about to go to Joan or Gertie, or maybe just risk it all and slip off after Aussie, but Hedy was in the way. She was looking around again and something told him he didn't want her attention. He slipped behind the tree and noticed it wouldn't be hard to climb. That's what he did when he remembered Aussie's house had a window. 

Climbing a tree in the dark was more difficult than he anticipated, but finally he had escaped Hedy and had a somewhat clear view of Aussie, the full leaves were hard to see through. 

She sat on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands, her shoulders slightly shaking. If it weren't for the few straggling girls left below him he would have been down that tree and at Aussie's door. But then she got up, grabbed her pillow and blanket and headed for her door. She hobbled down the stairs and made her way toward the maze doors again. Luckily Gertie also noticed this and caught up with her. They spoke for a moment and then Gertie ran off and Aussie resumed her crippled woman's trudge. 

The coast looked clear enough by the time Gertie got close to the tree again. She stopped and glanced around. 

"Oh snit, Gally! Where'd he go?" She muttered to herself. 

He carefully and quietly made his way down and dropped to the ground behind her with a slight thud. She jumped and whirled around. 

"Jeez!" She almost cried aloud but Gally clamped a hand to her mouth and shushed her. 

"What's Aussie doing?" He asked. 

Gertie gave him the stink eye but answered him anyway.   
"She's going to sleep by the doors... just in case."

"Is she mad at me?" He blurted without meaning to. 

"No, that's not what mad looks like on Aussie," she shook her head. 

"Then what's her problem with me all of a sudden?" He questioned. 

"I don't know!" But then her eyes widened from the derisive squint she was giving him like she just realized something. "Maybe it has something to do with your new girlfriend, Hedy."

This time he squinted at her.   
"What?!" The repulsion clear in his voice. Then slowly his expression fell. Maybe Aussie had seen them together and got the wrong idea. That could be it. 

"Can I come with you?" He asked her hopefully. 

"It's no skin off my butt, do what you want," she scoffed before sidestepping him. 

He turned and followed her, not bothering with a pillow or blanket like Gertie had tucked under her arm. He just needed to go and be with Aussie.


	19. Holding On

Aussie had gone into the special building near the maze door. It was the only building with a serious locking door. The thing looked like it came off a submarine. The building held the weirdest and the most vital things in the garden. For instance, the makers had sent them weapons, more than what you'd need for butchering, so those were stored in there. What else could they do with them? Also a box full of digital watches, athletic shoes out the wazoo, and the exact thing Aussie was looking for now, a tent. But they also kept the maze maps in there. 

Moo found her in there and was excited to do his version of helping, which was 100% just getting in her way and licking her ankles. She loved it anyway. After locking up behind herself, ankles thoroughly cleaned as she stood still for so long, she turned and saw Gertie, followed by the unmistakably hulking shadow of Gally. She couldn't help the joyous leap her heart made before the vines of doubt constricted it again. 

He might like Hedy in a special way, or any other girl there for that matter, and she had to be prepared for that. And she didn't want loyalty from him if it was begrudging, or out of guilt. She'd spent so much of herself the past few days fighting for his life, she might have lost sight of it being his life. 

"Just accept what you can get, and say thank you," she muttered to herself before looking down at Moo, his big eyes shining up at her as he panted. "Right, Moo Moo?"

He whined at her in agreement. 

She picked up the tent and made her way back to the doors, meeting up with the other two. 

"I picked up a stray," Gertie said, jerking her thumb at Gally. 

"So did I," Aussie nodded at Moo. "Well, it's a good thing, you two are smart enough to put this thing together. I couldn't do it to save my life."

"You think he's smart? Based on what evidence?" Gertie teased as she tossed her pillow and blanket by Aussie's. 

"How about the fact he smuggled in a note?" Aussie reminded her. 

"Yeah, I guess that's pretty good," Gertie shrugged. 

Aussie began pulling the tent parts out of the carrying bag and laid them neatly in the grass. She had carefully packed it away since using it last. This had been her home after the house just reminded her of Mary and Mary's blood, and before they built her real house on the far side of the Garden. 

"Did you bring a flashlight?" Gertie asked. 

"No, I was trying to not get noticed," Aussie lightly laughed at her own foolishness. 

"This will be impossible in the dark, I'm gonna go grab one," Gertie said as she began jogging back to camp. 

Aussie was worried someone would see Gertie, watch her come back and see Gally with Aussie. Worse yet, that someone else might try to join them. 

"Aussie?" Gally finally spoke up.

"Yeah?" She looked up at him with a friendly smile as Moo licked her chin. 

"Is everything alright? Like, are we good?" He asked as he knelt down by her. 

"Of course we are," she assured him, gently shoving Moo away from her face. 

"You're not ...upset with me?" He asked somewhat timidly. 

Her eyes snapped up to his, catching the worry on his face even in the dark. 

"Gally," she said softly as she put her task aside and focused on him. "Why would I be upset with you?"

"About Thena?" He avoided her eyes suddenly. 

She sighed.   
"But, I told you, I'm amazed you were so willing to try and help her after all she's put you through- that's incredible. But I am really, really glad I didn't lose you too... I'd never lie to you, Gally."

He didn't seem satisfied with this if his lip biting, darting eyes and flicking wrist were any clue. So Aussie just sat back on her heels and waited for what he'd say next. 

"Then... why'd you pull away from me?" He asked, that same look of hurt crossing his face. 

"Pull away?" Aussie repeated, hoping he'd clarify a little further. 

"You didn't want me to touch you," he quickly supplied. 

"Oh," Aussie said with a nod as she looked down at her lap. "That- that really is my fault for not being consistent. It's just that there's the rule we all made and some of the girls were giving me looks... I just didn't want to seem like I was breaking the rules too, like Thena did, or acting like I'm above them just because I'm 'in charge.'"

Aussie threw up air quotes and rolled her eyes.   
"I'm sorry about that," she apologized. 

"So... you only did that because there were other girls around?" He asked. 

She nodded, lips pressed in a thin, semi ashamed line. 

"So when no one else is around.. does that mean we could... that-"

Aussie suddenly snorted as a grin split her lips.   
"What, you want to touch me?" She asked like it was up there on the list of most ridiculous things she'd ever heard.

She didn't get to see the blush that dusted his cheeks, or how his lips were forming the word yes, because right when Gally was getting brave, Gertie shined a flashlight right in Aussie's face. It illuminated the bruises on her face and neck that had seemed to disappear in the dark with Gally's inhibitions. 

"God, Gertie," Aussie muttered as she shielded her eyes. 

Then the thought crossed her mind that it might not be Gertie, she was getting paranoid these days. Luckily her first instinct was right, it was Gertie all by herself, armed with a flashlight, lantern, and snacks.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Gertie asked as she pointed her light at Gally, his sour expression reading a big fat 'Yes'. She snorted. "All right, let's get this thing up, I'm tired."

Gertie bundled the snacks in a blanket so Moo wouldn't eat them and still smirked to herself about that idiot, Gally. With minimal arguing and less pinched fingers than expected, the tent was up after about 20 minutes. Gertie grabbed her things and tucked herself in the left side of the tent. She was not getting between Aussie and Gally, she valued her life more than that. Aussie, however, was surprised that Gally was staying as he squeezed in next to her. 

"You're staying?" She asked him as he settled down beside her, Moo coming in last and laying at her feet. 

The lantern was dimmed but she could still clearly see the look he was giving her. Do you really have to ask that? it said. 

"I'm not leaving you two alone right in front of the door with moms-" he started to say, but then he remembered. They were there because Thena was behind those doors, reminding Aussie of the monsters wouldn't make her feel any better.   
"Sorry. If anyone could make it through the night out there I'd put all my money on Thena."

"Mmm. And how much money is that?" Aussie gave him a sideways glance. 

He smirked.   
"None that I know of," he chuckled. "Jeez, what do I have? My life? I guess."

"Who else do you think would make it out there? I'd say Joan is up there," Aussie continued, liking the distracting banter. 

"Yep, I think she'd make it. Maybe that one girl... uh, the one on the counsel now, looks like she was pulled out from under a bridge somewhere.."

Aussie giggled, then that giggle built into a laugh, which grew till it was nearly a fit. Even Gertie was laughing. Gally smiled to himself, glad he managed to cause this even if he didn't understand why or how. 

Aussie caught her breath, little laughs still petering out as she wiped tears from her cheeks, her fingers grazing the bandaid on her cheek. 

"God, I needed that. Thank you, Gally," she said softly. 

Gertie settled in to go to sleep after that, but Aussie sat up still, her eyes fixed on the doors in front of her. Gally stayed up too, reclined back on his palms. 

"The note said we have to go," she said so quietly she sounded like a thought in his own head. "Do you think... do you think I'll make it?"

Gally sat up straight at that and gave her intense and furrowed brows.   
"Yes, I know you will," he told her seriously, as if willing it to be true. "I'm going to make sure of it."

Aussie held his gaze for longer than usual in silence. She wanted to believe him- no, scratch that, she did believe him. She had no doubt that he would fulfill anything he said. Then her eyes strayed down to his mouth, those full lips dusted with freckles like sugar. A wave of heat traveled up her body and burst on her face like a firework, she quickly looked away. 

"You didn't bring a pillow," she pointed out in a whisper. 

He shook his head, not sure what else to say or do. He felt it even stronger than before, that magnetic pull to her. It felt like he might lose his mind if he didn't kiss her right then. Obviously there was something big his head was missing but his heart never forgot. The only thing that wasn't obvious was if Aussie felt it too. 

"We can share mine," she suggested. 

"Ok," he would have agreed to anything she said. She set it between them and spread her blanket over her legs and then his as well. 

Moo stood up, knowing it was about time to snuggle and sleep. Aussie took her hair down, the bun cascading down in soft waves. 

"Goodnight, Gally," she smiled before laying down on her right side, her back to him. She flipped her hair over the pillow to keep it out of the way, and Moo snuggled into her like a little spoon. 

Gally's eyes were locked on her neck, the bruises wrapping all the way to the back of it. That girl had a neck like a soda can, he knew he could never lay his hands on it again as long as he lived.

He laid down on his half of the pillow, an ache in his chest that she was right beside him but he couldn't put his arms around her. Sleep would not come easy to him that night, but it visited Aussie relatively quickly because she'd worn herself out that day. 

When her breathing became steady and he was sure she was asleep, he reached for a lock of her hair. It was very fine and silky soft. It smelled like lavender as he twirled it with his fingers. He did that till he fell asleep, falling into a dream of remembering. 

He was on a rooftop covered with raised beds of plants and small trees. The sky was a mesmerizing palette of blues spattered with the brightest stars. He came around a corner and there she was, Aussie, facing the moon as if it had engaged her in conversation. He stood there, just watching her, contentment and longing battling for dominance within him. 

Then the stars seemed to fall from the sky, slowly, coming down and floating around her. Fireflies, somehow he knew that's what they were. They lit up the roof top and Aussie followed them with a big smile and wide eyes, as if seeing them for the first time. Her eyes finally landed on him and her smile managed to get bigger. He didn't think that was possible. 

"It's you," she breathed as she stopped right in front of him. "You know, you're not working right now, you can take that off."

Somehow he knows he's wearing something over his face, that she hasn't seen him yet but still she knows him. He feels hesitant to take it off, like she might be disappointed by what she sees. Still, he decides to take it off anyway. As he lifts it off, a part of it blocks his vision. Once it's past.... The fire flies and the stars and the moon and Aussie.... are gone. 

Gally jolted awake, a sick feeling in his gut. He looked beside him, Aussie laying there, facing him now. Was she really there? He reached out and gently touched her cheek with his finger tips, a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding escaped in a sigh. 

"Shhh," Aussie hushed as she moved closer to him. "It's ok Moo."

She slipped her hand over his side and rubbed his back a few times as she buried her face in his chest, giving him a squeeze. 

"It's ok," she slurred again before falling right back to sleep. 

She had confused him with the dog, but he didn't care. He wanted to cry in relief as he carefully put his arm around her and buried his face in her hair. 

She had been lost, but now they were together. And he'd never let them take her away again.


	20. The Lions Den

Song suggestion: Sweet Surrender- Against the Current

Aussie awoke to an odd sensation. She was toasty and warm despite the chill in the air that nipped at her nose, and she felt... cocooned? As sleep slipped further from her she became more aware. More aware of the bicep that was her pillow, the arm curling around her and holding her by the shoulder, the other arm wrapped around her waist, the hand pressed to her ribs holding her firmly against a solid and warm body. 

Gally, she thought as a warm smile spread across her face. She could tell from the very faint light that it was early in the morning. She tried to look at her watch but her arms were pinned in front of her. She lifted her head slightly, looking for Gertie over Moo's fluffy body. Gally's grip tightened, his hand moving up her body slightly and a leg was thrown over her, warm breath hitting the back of her neck. She broke out in goose bumps despite her body temperature skyrocketing. 

Moo popped his head up and saw Aussie's eyes were open which prompted his good morning routine. Aussie helplessly lay there as Moo began to give her kisses, getting more and more excited. He nosed himself under Gally's arm, whether to get closer to Aussie or to free her she couldn't tell, but Gally started to stir. His grip relaxed and he rolled onto his back, allowing Aussie to use her arms again. She wiped the dog spit from her face and sat up. 

Gertie was still asleep, curled up snuggly in her blanket, a tuft of hair peeking out from under it. As Aussie pet the still spastic Moo, she checked her watch. The door would open soon. She looked over her shoulder at Gally and smirked. 

He was laying there, sprawled out as best he could in the small tent, and it reminded her of the day he came up in the box. But he was even more beautiful now that she actually knew him. She wished she had savored being in his arms a little more, that feeling of contentment and safety was something she'd yearn for every second of her life now that she'd had her first taste of it. Plus, it was cold without him. She bit her lips as she got up and left the tent, knowing that if she stayed she'd probably lay her hands on him like the day she touched his cheek when he'd passed out. 

The doors seemed different today when she laid her eyes on them. They felt taller, thicker, and more alive than ever before. The maze had been a mystery for years now, but there was a new mystery behind those doors now: what happened to Thena?

What would they find when the doors opened? Or would they even find anything at all? Maybe she'd be dead, laying in a pool of blood somewhere in the maze, maybe she made it out... maybe they'd never find out what happened. 

Aussie placed her hand on the cool stone and felt a surge of hatred and disgust. These weren't doors, these were teeth. The maze was a monster that ate their hope and occasionally them too. It was like a guard dog between them and a real life in a real world, and the most frustrating part was that there was no reason why. 

"I'm coming for you, monsters," She whispered to the doors. 

Part of her felt ridiculous for that, she was the weakest little scarecrow in the whole Garden with asthma to boot, but she also felt something else. Like a solid rock in her chest, she knew what had to be done and she had the determination to do it. She'd die just to make them bleed. 

What she didn't know is that someone heard her that morning, and they didn't think it was a ridiculous threat from a little girl. They were afraid.

"Hey," came a groggy voice behind her. 

She turned to see Gally standing a few feet away, hands stuffed into his pockets. 

"Hey," she answered back, warmth returning to her cheeks as she softly smiled at him. "Did you sleep ok?"

She watched his freckles disappear in a blush as he broke eye contact with her and her smile grew a little. 

"Yeah, eventually," he mumbled before clearing his throat. "So, how long till the doors open?"

She checked her watch again.   
"About 15 minutes," she answered.

Over his shoulder she noticed some of the girls making their way across the field toward them. In front was Joan and Hedy. Aussie wasn't exactly pleased to see Hedy, but then she remembered how she woke up a moment ago and would hold that over Hedy in her heart for as long as she could. 

"Hey!" Gertie's voice broke the awkward silence that had started to grow as she stumbled out of the tent. "What are you leaving me all alone for? The dog tried to eat my face!"

Aussie gave her a look and sighed. Gertie stood by Gally and wrapped her arms around herself. 

"God I hope she's waiting for us right on the other side. I gotta pee," Gertie said as she jiggled her leg. 

"Would you shut up," Gally whispered as he flicked her arm. 

"Ow! Jeez!" Gertie complained as she rubbed her arm. He flicked like a bullet. "Sorry, Aussie."

Aussie hadn't thought of that- well, not peeing in particular, but what they would really do. Part of Aussie expected to see a bloody mess right on their doorstep as it were once the maze opened, she didn't think of preparing to search the maze in depth.

Joan and the others had reached them by then. 

"Hey Aussie," Joan greeted solemnly. 

"Hey," Aussie nodded back. "Listen, I had a thought-"

"Uh-oh, she's thinking," Hedy muttered under her breath. 

"Excuse me?" Joan asked her sharply but quietly, not wanting to put the rest of the girls on edge. 

"It's fine, there's not much time," Aussie said, placing her hand on Joan's shoulder to get her attention again. "If Thena isn't nearby when the doors open we need a plan, right? How far should we look before we come back and grab water and food before making an in depth search?"

Joan looked down thoughtfully for a moment.   
"Well, depending on how many branches we have off the main corridor today, I'd say ... four corners."

"Ok, and what do you think about doing groups of four, one to keep an eye in each direction?" Aussie asked. 

"Four people? That's a bit overkill isn't it?" Hedy interrupted. "Just do pairs of two like usual."

"Overkill?" Aussie repeated as she glared at Hedy now. 

Gally watched as Aussie straightened up, the way she squared her shoulders reminded him of a dragon unfurling its wings. 

"I'm sorry, I'm not willing to be that cavalier with everyone's lives," Aussie replied. 

"You're not in charge anymore, remember? You don't get to call all the shots," Hedy fired back, raising her voice. 

"And you're not in charge either!" Aussie squared up in front of Hedy. "We are both on the counsel and I was discussing options with some of the counsel members- you know what? No. There's no time for this crap. Those doors are opening any second now and the important thing is not who's in charge. It's Thena. We're going to look for her the way we'd want someone to look for us."

"Aussie, she ran into the maze on purpose!" Hedy argued, gesturing at the doors. "That's suicide. You don't really expect to save her, do you?"

Aussie felt tears brimming, hot like lava with anger. How dare she throw that word in Aussie's face, how dare she act like this was just Mary all over again. She wanted to punch her in the face, pull her hair, heck she'd willingly claw her. But she didn't lift a finger. She wouldn't be provoked to break the rules. 

Hedy leaned in closer, aiming her next words just at Aussie.   
"The two people who spent the most time alone with you both killed themselves. What does that say about you?"

The doors began to rumble open and at first Aussie mistook the sound for her heart breaking. And then Gally was there, wedging himself between them. 

"Hey, why don't you shut up if you're not going to be useful," he said angrily as he towered over Hedy, intending to be as intimidating as he could be. She suddenly became very sheepish. Every step back she took was a step forward for him. "How the hell did you end up on the counsel anyway?"

He gave her a disgusted sneer before shaking his head and turning away from her, her face red in embarrassment. Gertie was holding Aussie's shoulders and whispering encouragement to her when he got back to them. 

"You ok?" He ducked low to ask her, trying to be as close to her as he could without touching her. He wished he could wipe away her tears. 

She nodded fervently but avoided his eyes, angrily wiping away her tears before facing the now opening doors.

Rani appeared by Joan, a bundle of weapons in her arms from the vault and they distributed them among the guards. Rani doubled back and nudged Gally's arm with the butt of a machete to get his attention before handing the weapon over to him. He nodded his thanks as he took it, too surprised at the amount of trust it took to arm a yeti like him in a world of girls. He attached the sheath to his belt. 

The doors seemed to open slower than usual, as if the makers were capitalizing on Aussie's agony. She stood as close as humanly possible, peering through the gap for any sight of Thena, just waiting till the gap was big enough to slide through. She hated to admit that Hedy had gotten to her, but she had. How could she live with herself if she was the reason people had killed themselves? 

"Aussie?" Gally's voice called as Aussie had finally fit her head in the gap and her shoulders turned to follow. "Aussie! Joan, grab her- grab her!"

She felt hands grip her arm and pull her away. 

"Aussie, come on. You're smarter than that," Joan said softly as she loosened her grip but didn't let go. "We have to be safe. We wait till we can go in together. Single file is a bad idea."

"We gotta find her," Aussie whispered desperately. 

"Hey, don't listen to that snit for brains, alright? Just shuck it because she's wrong," Joan assured her firmly. "Ok? Tell me you're ok or I'm not letting you in there."

"I'm ok," Aussie nodded as she took a few calming breaths. "You're right... I'm ok."

Joan patted Aussie's back as she stood there and tried to shake off her nerves and control her breathing again. Gally stood over her from behind, worried out of his mind and wishing he had that rope again to tether Aussie to his side at all times. If only he could just take her by the hand. 

They all waited until the doors had settled into the walls and the Garden fell eerily silent after all their grating and rumbling. Aussie felt a weird mix of dread and relief when the main corridor proved to be empty. She wished Thena was alive and well, just waiting for the doors to reopen, but she was glad there was not a corpse waiting for her either. The dread was from the thought of finding the corpse later. 

Aussie looked at Joan to her right, then Gally to her left, both of them nodding to her that they were ready. Aussie took another deep breath that sounded way too loud in her own head, and took a step forward. The moment she stepped from the lush grass of the garden onto the rough stone of the maze the still, silent air was cut with an ear piercing alarm.


	21. Belly of the Beast

Aussie jumped and screamed as the alarm startled her already fragile nerves. An arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her back from the doors. Gally had her pulled tightly to his side while his other hand gripped Gertie's wrist, the frightened younger girl gladly clinging right back. He looked around for the source of trouble but saw nothing. 

"Oh it's the shucking box!" Aussie complained as she held a hand over her racing heart. It was a familiar sound but one that always startled her nonetheless, especially when it went off unscheduled. They weren't expecting the box today. 

Gally's grip on her loosened but he was still hesitant to let her go completely. Meanwhile Gertie had yanked her arm free and took steps away from him like she hadn't been scared at all. 

Joan and Georgia shared a glance with Aussie before looking in the direction of the box. 

"I think we should check that out real quick," Georgia suggested. "Maybe they sent Thena back that way?"

Aussie doubted it, but dang that would be nice. Too nice for the Makers. 

"You go," Joan said. "I'll stay here with a few guards in case they're just trying to distract us from the doors."

"Oh god," Aussie mumbled, terrified at the thought but also impressed with Joan for thinking of that. "Good call."

The majority of the girls headed across the field again, toward the box, Gally staying by Aussie's side just in case. He hadn't thought about the box since he arrived in it, but he remembered some brief and unpleasant memories of it. For some reason he felt nervous, like he was expecting something bad to arrive. The relief that washed over him when they all saw the simple, solitary gray case was equally as confusing. 

"They sent one thing?" Georgia asked in disbelief, breaking the silence.

Everyone just stared down at it in confusion for a few moments. Things were just getting weirder and weirder. Aussie was startled by someone jumping down into the box with a loud bang, and felt uneasy when she realized it was Hedy. She picked the box up and turned it in her hands, inspecting it before giving it a good shake, the contents making a loud metallic noise. 

"Oh! God!" Gertie exclaimed before frantically scrambling down into the box. "I know that sound, stop shaking it you moron!"

Gertie carefully but forcibly grabbed the box from her hands and set it down, crouching over it. She opened it and Gally recognized the metal canisters from when he and Gertie treated Aussie's wounds. Gertie opened one and looked inside, breathing a sigh of relief as her shoulders slumped. 

"They're not broken. Well, at least not this one," she glared at Hedy. 

"How was I supposed to know what it was?" Hedy asked, hands on her hips. 

"Honest to god, Hedy, I don't know how natural selection hasn't come for you yet- one day you're going to shake a bomb or something and -"

"Gertie!" Aussie interrupted, her tone high as if calling out to a child as she bent over and braced her hands on her knees. "Gertie, what's the medicine?"

Gertie looked down at the canister and her face paled.   
"Grief serum," she read in a hollow voice.

"The heck is that?" Hedy asked, peering over her shoulder. 

Aussie stood up straight, her and Gally exchanging a quick glance. 

"Uh, we can explain that later, after we look for Thena. I promise," Aussie assured all the girls around her. 

"Or you could explain now," Hedy said crossing her arms. 

"I'm gonna hit her," Gertie stated simply. 

"Gertie, ugh, no," Aussie sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright, alright, alright."

Aussie ran her hands down her face and took a deep breath. Meanwhile Gertie lifted the case of grief serum out of the box and Gally helped her get up out of it. 

"Ok, I promise that today we'll explain the whole grief serum thing, we promise. But the thing is we have to do it in the basement because of the robot things- anyway!" Aussie waved her hands and tried to collect her thoughts. "Listen, the maze doors are only open so long, so looking for Thena is the priority. That makes sense, right?"

The majority of the girls nodded and murmured their agreement. 

"That would make sense... if there was any chance Thena was actually alive," Hedy shrugged. 

"We could lock her in the box," Gertie suggested quietly. 

"My thoughts exactly," Gally agreed, arms crossed over his chest. 

"Don't tempt me," Aussie said through clenched teeth. "Listen Hedy, I don't know what your problem is, and frankly- well, I don't care. But you don't have to look for Thena if you don't want to, that's fine. But I think there's a chance she could be alive and I'd rather know for sure, so I'm not going to waste anymore time talking to you."

With that Aussie turned on her heel and marched away. 

"You got that, right?" Gally asked Gertie, pointing to the case in her arms. She nodded and he gave her a thumbs up before jogging after Aussie. 

He walked next to her, surprised at her speed even though his legs were much longer than hers. He wished he had the perfect thing to say in that instance, but he couldn't think of anything. And he'd rather stay silent than say something stupid, lord knows Hedy had reached the stupidity quota for everyone that day. So he did what he could. 

"What was it?" Joan asked when they were close enough. She now had a bow and a quiver of arrows over her shoulders. 

"The grief serum, and if you ask me I think Hedy could use a shot of it right about now because that's all she's giving me: grief," Aussie said long windedly before heaving a sigh. "Let's go before she shows up again because I don't want to deal with that anymore."

"That's fair," Joan shrugged as she followed Aussie and Gally into the maze. "You know, I gotta say though... it's actually kind of a relief to know your niceness has limits."

"Oh, believe me, I still feel guilty about being mean to her," Aussie assured Joan as she marched along the main corridor. 

"You shouldn't," Gally finally spoke up. "Just forget her, she's not worth it."

"Yeah? Is that what you really think of her?" Aussie asked without sparing him a glance as she did. 

"Absolutely," Gally said firmly, not sure why she had to ask. 

They finally got to the end of the corridor and paused, a second group of girls catching up to them. 

"Rani, you take Serena and Mia and go left, we'll go right. And remember, be safe, keep your eyes peeled, and head back at the first sign of trouble," Joan instructed. "Rani, you got an extra blade?"

Rani handed one over and Joan passed it to Aussie. 

"What? I got him," she jerked her thumb at Gally with a fish-eating grin, earning raised brows from them both. "I'm joking! That would be assuming a lot..."

Aussie took the weapon and fastened it to her belt loop, hoping the weight wouldn't pull her pants down. 

"Aussie," Joan sighed. "For the love of god just keep it together, don't make me worry about you too."

"I got it, I got it, I'm sorry. No more jokes," Aussie agreed. 

Gally noted her intense gaze and the way she kept biting her lips and could tell that she was scared and she was trying to cope with it by cracking jokes. Apparently she could only be serious when someone needed told off, not when there was no one talking back to her. And the maze sure had nothing to say. 

"Gally you take the rear and watch our tail, ok?" Joan instructed as she pulled out an arrow and took the lead, Aussie sandwiched in the middle. 

They were silent from then on as they made their slow and steady way through the maze. Gally hated being in the maze, the change of scenery messed with his head after he got used to the Garden. He didn't want to be in there and he didn't want the girls in there either. His pulse was too fast and he was disgusted by the hairs standing up on the back of his neck, hated that he was afraid. 

For a while now he'd started to feel sure that his purpose for being there was to get Aussie out safely. His dream of carrying her through the maze, the fact that he was strong enough to carry her and still match Joan's speed was all the evidence he needed to convince him. That and the feeling that he'd do anything for her. 

He glanced forward for a moment to look at her. She was walking tall with her shoulders squared and her head held high. The dragon had her wings spread. She looked braver than he felt. 

"Aussie?" Joan whispered. 

"Yeah?" She whispered back. 

"If we find Thena, tell me you're not going to run to her. Tell me you'll hold on till we know it's not a trap."

There was a pause. 

"Yeah, that's - that's what I'll do," Aussie agreed, sounding like she'd almost been caught. "Now."

Gally smirked. 

The farther they got from the entrance, the more worried he became. He didn't like being so far from the safety of the Garden, what little safety it provided anyway. But he realized there was one thing he wasn't worried about, and that was being lost. He knew exactly how to get back the way they'd come even though he hadn't been trying to memorize the path they'd taken. 

A skittering rock broke the silence in the corridor. Gally figured one of them had kicked it, Joan assumed the same, but Aussie had seen it. She saw it come tumbling down the wall, which didn't seem like a big deal, falling rocks in an old maze, right? But she happened to glance up... and that's when she saw it. 

Following them along the top of the maze was something. She didn't know how to describe it and she didn't want it to know she'd spotted it. All she saw were mechanical legs and shiny, lumpy, blob like moldy jello. A glint of light flashed in her eye and for some reason, almost instinctively, she looked down at her chest and saw a green speck of light dancing on her shirt like a laser pointer. Then it disappeared. 

"Guys?" She said quietly, trying not to let her fear come through in her voice. "I think we should head back. Now."

"Really?" Joan asked. "But you were so gung-ho about coming in here."

"Just do it, please," Aussie pleaded, keeping her face straight forward but watching the thing in her peripheral vision. 

"What's wrong?" Gally asked quietly, picking up on her tone, blindly reaching forward for her, his hand running into the small of her back. Her little hand was clammy as it clamped onto his tightly. 

"We need to calmly leave right now," she whispered through clenched teeth. "Please."

"Alright," Joan consented. "I'm the tail now. Gally, can you lead us back out of here?"

"Yeah, I got it," Gally assured her as he began walking forward now. 

As much as he liked having ahold of Aussie now, he felt a panic threatening to pull him under. Aussie was freaking out about something and was trying to hide it which, in turn, freaked him out. 

"We doing ok?" He tried to ask calmly once he'd lead them back around the last corner they'd taken, giving Aussie's hand a squeeze as he vigilantly watched the corridors in front of him. 

"So far so good," Aussie replied quietly. The thing was staying atop the maze wall, just watching. Not attempting to follow them further than it could go from its perch. 

"What are we doing?" Gally questioned further. 

"We're gonna go around the next turn..." 

"Uh-huh."

"And then we're gonna run."

"Run?"

"Like hell."


	22. Door Slam

"Ok, if you say so," Gally said, swallowing hard as he rubbed his thumb over her hand nervously. 

"Oh snit, I see it," Joan said quietly. 

Gally didn't want to hear that, didn't want to look, didn't want to know. He just held Aussie's hand tighter and thought about the fastest way to throw her over his shoulder and take off running. They were just rounding the corner when a beastly roar sounded in the distance. 

Aussie whipped her head around in the direction of the noise, but just as quickly her arm was jerked as Gally ducked under it and grabbed her up. 

"It's going after the noise, not us," Joan informed them as she peeked around the corner. "I say we go while the going is good."

Gally didn't need to be told, he was moving before Joan finished her sentence. This time he almost out paced her.

He felt Aussie's hands on his back, the pressure and balance telling him she was propping herself up to watch their backs. Finally they were in the corridor where they split up, which meant the exit was just up ahead on the left side. A small group of guards was standing there at the T junction, their attention turned the other way, in the direction of the noise. When they looked Gally's way their faces were wide eyed and pale. 

"It tore right by here on the top of the maze!" One girl called out to them as she pointed to the top of the wall. 

"Did Rani and the others come back?" Joan asked as she skidded to a halt in front of them. 

Begrudgingly Gally slowed and stopped a ways down the main corridor, turning to see what the guards would say. Aussie pushed herself upright so she could see as well, Gally's grip around her thighs remained tight however, ready to run again at a moments notice. 

"No, we heard screams," one girl informed Joan with a shaky voice. 

Joan's brows furrowed and she looked down the corridor for a moment, her hand tightening around her bow. 

"Joan," Aussie called, pushing against Gally's chest, trying to get free of his hold. "Joan, what are you doing?!"

"I... I'm gonna go after them," Joan told herself as much as she was telling Aussie. 

"No, wait!" Aussie cried nearly throwing herself from Gally's arms but he caught her and set her feet on the ground, firmly holding onto her shoulders. 

There was another roar then, and it overlapped a human scream that came from nearby. Joan looked down the corridor and her eyes widened, her bow and arrow coming up as she charged down the corridor. 

"No!" Aussie cried and tried to break free and run after her. 

"Aussie stop," Gally said firmly as he spun her around to face him. "I'll stay and help, but you need to get out of here."

"No, I'm not leaving them!" She spat at him as she fought against his grip on her. He should know better than asking her to abandon them. 

"Aussie I'm trying to keep you safe!" He yelled as his fingers pressed into her skin and gave her a mild shake. "There's nothing you can do here, so just go!" 

Through her shock she felt her heart plummet as she stared up into his ruddy face, furrowed brows beaded with sweat. 

"Go!" He repeated before turning her around shoving her toward the Garden. 

She stumbled forward and threw a glance over her shoulder to see Gally turning back toward the corridor. She faced forward again and began to walk in a daze, her feet dragging against the stone. What just happened? Why did it hurt so much? 

Because it was true? There was nothing she could do in the maze. She thought she was doing the right thing by going in there, she wasn't asking anyone to do something if she wasn't willing to do it herself so she had to go in, but what good was that? She was dead weight. She was a danger to others. 

She was still reeling from the angry look Gally had given her, how he yelled at her, what he said, and how he shoved her. She didn't register the commotion behind her till Georgia came up to her and gently pulled her toward the wall. 

Gally, Joan, Serena and Mia were all trying their best to carry a screaming, thrashing Rani. They deposited her at Gertie's feet in the grass and tried to hold her down so she wouldn't hurt herself or others. 

"You ok?" Georgia asked, still holding on to Aussie gently. 

Aussie's lips parted but nothing came out as she just sort of shrugged, not sure if she was or not. 

"It stabbed her with something! I think it poisoned her," Serena explained as she lifted Rani's shirt to expose a puncture wound, black veins stemming out from it like deathly roots. 

"Roll up her sleeve," Gertie instructed as she pulled a metal canister out of her back pocket. "I'll give her the medicine now then we can take her inside."

Rani was still fighting and screaming, Aussie felt tired just watching her but she never seemed to run out of steam. 

"Let's just hope the Makers aren't jerking our chain with this stuff," Gertie muttered as she put the spent syringe back in the case. 

Everyone did their best to pick Rani up again as she did her best to fight them as they began toting her to the house. Gally looked over his shoulder and caught Aussie's eye but she quickly looked away. That didn't improve anything because the next thing her eyes landed on was Hedy's smug face. 

She strolled up to Aussie and Georgia before throwing a look back over her shoulder at the troop of people crossing the field. 

"So," she began brightly. "Did you find Thena?"

Aussie just stared at her. 

"How many people are you going to get killed?" Hedy asked now. 

"That's enough!" Georgia barked. 

"Do you have a list? How many more before me so I know when I need to be careful?" Hedy wore an almost amused smile and kept raising her voice over Georgia's demands for her to back off, colorful strings of curses filling the Garden as Aussie just stood there, taking it all. 

She had thought that looking for Thena was the right thing to do, but look where it got them. Those monsters were nothing like she'd expected. Rani was hurt and more people could have been hurt, all because of her. Not to mention Gally. She was completely useless. 

"Rani got hurt because of you, you know. So technically you should be in the pit for that, you're not supposed to harm another Gardener," Hedy pointed out after Georgia had pushed her away from Aussie. 

"That's Bull and you know it!" Georgia yelled. "They willingly volunteered to go look for her, and you exercised your right to stay here like a coward."

"If you want me in the pit that's fine," Aussie said so quietly they almost didn't hear her. "But we're all in prison anyway... and it can't make me feel any worse than I do right now."

Georgia's surprise turned to concern and not even Hedy had anything to say to that. Aussie stared at them from where she leaned on the maze wall, her black eye and bruised neck adding to her broken appearance. Finally she shrugged and pushed herself off the wall before trudging toward her house, the house that kept her all alone for so long. 

She climbed her stairs, locked the door behind her, and finally allowed herself to cry. 

It took an hour to get Rani to the house and tie her down to one of the beds well enough that she couldn't get free or hurt someone. Finally she spent all her feral energy and fell into a fitful sleep. Gally and the others were plain exhausted, but he picked himself up to go look for Aussie. He knew he'd messed up somehow, she'd never looked afraid of him before he'd raised his voice at her. 

"Hey," A voice called, bringing his eyes up from the grass in front of his feet. "You don't look so good, you ok?"

It was Hedy. 

"I'm tired," he sighed and went to go past her. 

"Do you need anything?" She asked, trailing along after him, the picture of innocence with sugary sweetness in her voice. "Water? Food? I can make you something."

"No," he said shortly and picked up the pace. 

"Well... where are you going?" She asked, scrambling to keep up with him. 

He didn't say anything, didn't plan to speak to her again. If he said Aussie's name to her he was sure he'd hate whatever came out of her mouth after that and he wasn't allowed to hurt her. The thought scared him and he slowed for a brief second wondering if he would hurt her. Certainly he wouldn't hit her, right? No, he hadn't even hit Thena, just pushed her to get her off Aussie. 

"Hey, would you listen to me for a second, please?" She almost sounded genuine as she grabbed his arm to get his attention. 

He was so tired and so confused about a lot of things that he actually stopped walking and looked at her, not even thinking of the No Touching Rule. 

"What do you want?" He almost begged her, hoping to end this and get away from her for good. 

She looked up at him through her lashes with a small, shy smile, still holding onto him.   
"I want to be your friend."

He took a deep breath that threatened to be a laugh if he weren't so tired, lightly shaking his head in disbelief, and that's when he saw her. 

Aussie stood a few yards away, looking... different. Her eyes were red and puffy and her lips seemed swollen, even the bruise around her eye seemed darker and mottled red. But that wasn't the worst part. Her expression was hard and unreadable, soulless, devoid of all those little emotional micro expressions she was so full of. She looked at Hedy, looked at her hold on his arm, then looked at him before her eyes flicked away quickly and she began walking again, still devoid of expression. 

He looked down at Hedy and yanked his arm away, a pathetic look crossing her face that wasn't quite as genuine as before. 

"No touching, remember? And I'm only going to say this once," he leaned down to look her in the eyes. "I have no interest in being your friend."

He left her there and went after Aussie who's speedy little legs had gotten her all the way to the house already. His chest felt tight as he jogged after her. 

He had no idea what Hedy had said to her after he'd gone to help with Rani, and he had no idea she'd gone off and cried her eyes out for 20 minutes of feeling sorry for herself. What he saw was the Aussie who had remembered Georgia's words to not waste anymore time playing the woe-is-me card. This Aussie wasn't going to shrink away and be as useless as everyone thought she was, she was going to do what she had to even if it meant getting hurt, and maybe, if she was tough enough and put up enough walls, she could keep from getting hurt. 

Song suggestion- Battle Cry, Imagine Dragons


	23. Everyone’s Acting Weird

"Aussie!" Gally called out, catching up to her at the door of the house. 

"What?" Her voice was void of inflection or tone and she didn't even turn to look at him, just kept walking. 

His brows furrowed, so taken aback by this that he stopped moving altogether for a moment and had to jog yet again to catch up to her. 

"What's wrong?" He asked her. 

She finally stopped by the chair Joan was slouched in, limp and exhausted, and looked at him, still dead in the eyes. 

"Just close your eyes and point at something, it's probably going wrong today," she stated shortly before turning to Joan. "When the box came up I told the girls we'd explain about the grief serum and the note before the end of the day, figured we'd probably be safer doing that in the basement."

Joan looked between her and Gally, sharing a curious look with the latter.   
"Ok?" Joan ventured. "What are- what about it?"

"Just letting you and the rest of the Counsel know so we can all decide how to do it," Aussie didn't wait for a reply, she just turned and left, making her way upstairs. 

"What the..." Joan breathed as her and Gally stared up at her. 

"This is crazy, she's acting like- like you!" 

"Huh?" But it was too late, Gally was already taking the steps two at a time.

Gertie turned her tired eyes to the door when she heard a soft knock and they widened when she saw Aussie standing there there looking like crap. What happened to her?

"How is she doing?" Aussie asked quietly, not coming inside. 

Gertie's brows furrowed at her odd behavior and furthermore when an equally confused looking Gally came up behind her. 

"I ..." Gertie trailed off with a broken voice as she looked at the girl sleeping fitfully on the bed in front of her. "Honestly, I don't know."

Aussie wanted to be like the other girls, the girls who just go 'well, ok' and go about their business. But Gertie looked like she was scared, and deep down at her core Aussie could not change completely. Not in one afternoon at least. So she stepped into the room, waves of guilt washing over her every time Rani jerked against her restraints. She hesitantly placed a hand on Gertie's shoulder. 

"You did exactly what you should have done. Whatever happens... it isn't your fault," she told her with only a hint of warmth in her tone. 

Gertie was more confused than ever by her best friend which made her want to cry even more. 

"Aussie, are you ok? You're acting weird," A tremor shook Gertie's voice which was a stark contrast to her usual sarcasm and blasé attitude. 

Gally noticed that as well and felt a swell of pity for Gertie, convinced now more than ever that something was wrong with Aussie. His thoughts were interrupted as Gertie shot up out of her seat, hands reaching out for Aussie as a look of terror passed her green eyes. 

"You're not stung too, are you?" She cried as she quickly examined Aussie's arms before grabbing her shirt and forcefully lifting it up to her armpits and checking her body for marks.

"No! I'm not stung!" Aussie assured her as she struggled to cover herself again, but Gally had already gotten an eyeful of smooth pale skin and pink bra, his own face turning pink as well. 

"Just sit down," Aussie instructed as she took her by the wrists and led her back to her chair. "You need to rest. I'll get someone to come watch Rani for you."

Gertie stared up at her as if an Alien were inhabiting her body and it darn near broke Gally's heart. Aussie turned and came his way but he was blocking her exit. 

"Excuse me," she didn't look him in the eyes. 

"Aussie, what is wrong?" He gripped her arms firm enough to leave a mark. 

"Please excuse me, I have to do this for Gertie," is all she said to that. 

At his wits end he let her go and got out of her way. As soon as she was gone Gertie jumped up and came over to him. 

"Are you sure nothing happened to her in the maze?" She questioned him. 

"No, nothing even got close to her!" Gally rubbed his head in frustration. "I think she's mad at me because I raised my voice at her... or something... maybe Hedy got to her again, I don't know."

Gertie slipped her lanky arms around Gally and squeezed him tightly, sniffling into his shirt. He held his arms out in surprise, not expecting this from the independent, infuriating little brat. 

"Well you better fix her!" She cried, pulling away and lightly punching his abs, her now angry face covered in tears. 

"I'm working on it!" What kind of alternate dimension was he in? These girls were losing their minds. "Stop crying, I don't know what to do with that."

He roughly wiped her face off in downward strokes and then wiped his hands on her shirt sleeves as she tried to swat him away. 

"Gross! Get away from me," she gave one sharp slap to his arm before turning around and throwing herself into her chair again. 

Gally shrugged with a defeated sigh. Aussie came back right then with Lanie in tow. She took Gertie's place watching over Rani, and Aussie took Gertie to lie down in the next room. Gally followed her like a shadow, waiting for her to either get annoyed and talk to him or give some kind of clue about what was bothering her. As Aussie was walking out of the house she ran into Georgia who practically leapt out of her way. 

"Hi Aussie, working hard I see," Georgia nodded with a weird smile on her face. 

As Gally went to follow Aussie past her, her little ham fist grabbed him by the back of his shirt collar and towed him back inside, past Joan who looked fed up with being confused, and into the kitchen. 

"You too?" Gally asked as he straightened out his shirt when she finally released him. 

Joan came power walking up to them.   
"What the hell is going on with everyone?!" She demanded. 

Gally raised his brows at Georgia, waiting for an explanation. He crossed his arms over his chest and Joan put one hand on her hip while the other leaned on the counter, both of them towering over little Georgia. 

"So Aussie's been weird right?" She asked them. 

"Yes!" They replied in unison. 

"Ok, I have a theory," she sighed. "I think she did a door slam."

They just blinked at her. 

"It's a psychological thing," Georgia sighed and began to explain. "I think she got her feelings hurt so now she's trying to protect herself by acting like she doesn't have any, or not letting anyone close enough to hurt her again. Physically she's here, but mentally she's locked herself in her safe room. So I need to know what happened in the maze."

Gally and Joan looked at each other as they recounted the events. 

"She was the first one to see the thing and tell us to get out of there..."

"I picked her up and ran with her.."

"I went back to help the others-"

"She got upset about that. She wanted to help and didn't want to leave," Only Gally knew that part. "But I made her go."

"How did you do that?" Georgia asked, slightly squinting at him. 

Gally tried to remember exactly what happened.   
"Well, I told her I wanted her to be safe... there wasn't anything she could do so she should just go and I'd stay and help, then I turned her around and gave her a nudge toward the Garden."

Somehow Joan had turned herself so she was standing with Georgia now, both of them staring at him intently through narrowed eyes. 

"You told her there was nothing she could do?" Joan questioned slowly. 

He looked between the two girls, knowing there was no good outcome from this. 

"Did you yell at her?" Georgia followed up. 

"It was urgent!" He defended pitifully. 

"Oh god," Georgia groaned. "Between you and Hedy she really got double whammied today."

"What did Hedy do this time?" Gally asked with clenched fists. 

"Oh not much, just asked Aussie how many people she was going to kill and told her that she was responsible for Rani getting hurt is all," Georgia rolled her eyes. "Hedy wanted to put her in the pit and Aussie didn't argue with her, said nothing she could do would make her feel any worse."

Gally groaned.   
"Can't we do something about Hedy? She's a menace! I'll take a strike on my record if you just let me put the fear of God into her."

"For now what can we do for Aussie?" Joan asked Georgia, putting a hand up for Gally to cool it. 

Georgia shrugged.   
"Aussie is a very authentic person, she can't repress her true self for long, we just have to wait for her to come back out."

Gally kept careful watch over her. He watched her work that afternoon and watched her at the meeting in the basement where Joan and Georgia told all the girls about the note, all of them stuffed into the basement and hushed quiet. Even though she had figured out the white rabbit part a little bit she didn't speak up about it, just let them tell the whole thing. That struck Gally as weird considering how excited she had been to tell him about it. 

That night she moved into that weird building by the maze door and turned her house over to him. The next day she did meaningless, mindless chores around the garden, not talking to a soul. Gally's presence near her ensured Hedy wouldn't harass her, but yet another day passed and Aussie still wasn't herself in the slightest. 

Rani was still out of it, screaming and thrashing most of the day and sleeping fitfully in between. Caring for her was hard on Gertie. 

Girls quietly talked about the note constantly, wondering about the White Rabbit, there eyes going wide and fearful when they mentioned how they'd have to go one day. They wondered if they'd make it. 

Basically, everyone needed Aussie to be Aussie again, something had to give even if it had to be Gally himself. That's why, on the evening of the fourth day of weird behavior, he threw Georgia's advice to wait to the wind and decided to get Aussie back.


	24. Breaking the Spell

Gally had spent what felt like hours looking for Aussie that day. If it hadn't been for the commotion in the garden he may have believed she'd gone into the maze. But he noticed Hedy standing over someone in a large straw hat on their hands and knees in the garden. How he recognized it was Aussie just from her backside was a question for another day. By her crossed arms and the snarky bobble of her head, he could tell Hedy was harassing her. 

He charged over, ready to bury her under the tomato's when the strangest thing happened. Hedy looked around, not seeing him through the trees, and then flung herself on the ground, crying out in a loud, annoying wail. Gally stopped in his tracks and just stared for a moment in utter disbelief. Did he see that right?

Aussie sat back on her heels and just looked over at her. Other girls made their way over to investigate and Gally joined them. 

"What happened?" Joan was asking when he arrived. 

"She went crazy and pushed me down!" Hedy said with actual tears running down her face as she pointed at Aussie who blankly stared back at her. 

"No she didn't," Gally spoke up, shaking his head at her. 

"Oh what?! I just threw myself on the ground? Yeah right," Hedy sniffled pathetically as Gertie appeared at her side. 

"Yeah, actually. That's exactly what you did, I saw you," he informed her. 

"Of course you'd say that, she's got you in her pocket," Hedy whined as an exhausted looking Gertie helped her up and tried to assess her for injuries. 

Gally took a step toward her but Joan put up her hand to block him. 

"Did anyone else see what happened?" She cut in looking around for any witnesses. No one came forward. 

"Aussie, did you push her?" Joan asked with a sigh, more out of obligation than anything. 

Aussie folded her arms and stood up, looking at Hedy. 

"How did I push you?" She asked. 

Hedy seemed annoyed.   
"Hard?" 

"Tell them how I pushed you, where did I put my hands?" Aussie asked calmly. 

"You shoved me in the chest, you psycho!" Hedy fired back as she nursed a sore shoulder. 

Aussie looked up at Joan.   
"Look at her," she nodded to Hedy. "And look at me."

Aussie unfolded her arms and raised muddy hands, brown from finger tip to wrist. 

Hedy's exaggerated heavy breathing silenced immediately. 

Gertie looked at Aussie's hands and at Hedy's clean shirt before glaring at her over the bags under her eyes. 

"No, you see- she shoved her hands in the dirt after- Ah!"

Her sentence was cut off by Gertie's palm colliding with her cheek with more force than Gally thought her little body could muster. Everyone jumped in surprise. 

"Gertie!" Aussie blurted in shock as she stepped toward her but was even more shocked to be her next victim. 

"Ow!" Aussie cried as she placed a hand to her cheek, the one already bruised from Thena, getting it muddy in the process. Her and Gertie stared at each other through teary eyes. 

"I want my friend back!" Gertie screamed at her as the tears spilled over. 

"Ok, that's enough," Lanie spoke softly as she gently took Gertie by the shoulders and led her away. 

Aussie rubbed her sore cheek, her mouth gaping in shock as most of the girls shuffled around awkwardly. 

"She hit me!" Hedy cried. "She should be in the pit!"

"Oh, shut up, Hedy!" Joan yelled at her, completely fed up. 

Aussie turned and began to walk off, hand still pressed to her cheek. As much as Gally wanted to throw Hedy in the pit himself he left that in Joan's capable hands and followed after Aussie. 

"Why are you following me?" She asked without turning around as she headed for the showers, the only source of water outdoors. 

"Because I want to talk to you," he said simply as he trudged along just behind her. 

"What do you need?" 

"Nothing."

"Then what do we need to talk about?"

They had reached the showers along the back wall of the Garden and Gally was tempted to hose her down with cold water if it could bring her to her senses. 

"Aussie, I have tried to be patient but I can't do it anymore," he began as she scrubbed the dirt from her hands. "Tell me what's going on- why you haven't been yourself the past few days. Are you mad at me? Is that it? Did I say something-did I hurt you? Is that why you're acting like this?"

"What's wrong with the way I've been acting?" She asked him casually. "No one has died or gotten hurt since I've stuck to things I'm actually capable of doing-"

"That's not true," his statement finally got her attention and she turned to look at him. 

He stepped up next to her, both of them hidden behind the privacy walls of the showers. 

"I think you've been hurting yourself, and you've obviously hurt Gertie," he said as he stroked her mud caked cheek with his knuckles. "And you've hurt me, because I miss my friend too."

Her brows knit together as her glassy eyes stared up at him. She'd never heard something so sweet before and it broke right through her resolve. 

"B-but I-" she began with a wobbly chin as the tears finally broke free and fell from her lashes. 

He wouldn't let her argue, he just pulled her to his chest and held her tight. She seemed stunned for a second as she didn't move, but then her arms hesitantly wrapped around him, squeezing tighter as she finally began to cry into his shirt. He just stood there and let her, holding on for as long as she needed. He even rested his chin on her head and rubbed her back as she got it all out of her system. If he was honest that hug was just as much for him as it was for her. It was so much easier than talking too. 

Her crying turned to stuttering breaths which eventually calmed down. He had one arm wrapped around her and one hand on top of her head as he looked down at her. 

"Feeling better?" He asked. 

She nodded against his chest. 

"You ready to talk about it?" 

She nodded again and pulled back, wiping her eyes and smearing mud everywhere. A soft chuckle escaped him as he looked at her messy face. 

"Let's get that cleaned up first," he suggested before he turned the water on and helped her get all the mud off, running his finger under her jaw to catch it all as it ran off her cheek. 

"Thanks," she said with a slight sniffle, a blush hidden in the redness from crying. 

"Geez, you can see her hand print," he muttered in surprise as he frowned and cupped her face, tilting it for a closer inspection. "These girls need to leave your face alone."

Aussie swallowed hard. 

"I'm sorry, Gally, for the way I've been acting," she apologized as she gently pulled his hands away from her face. "I did think you were mad at me, in the maze. I could have gotten you guys killed in there because I'm so slow and useless-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he interrupted her, placing his fists on his hips. "Who said you were useless?"

"Well, just- I am, I can't run.. you were right, there was nothing I could do to help with Rani," she explained. 

Gally groaned as he looked heavenward and ran a hand over his face.   
"I didn't mean that! I was just trying to get you out of there before something happened to you, that's all that was."

"But you were right, I-"

Gally cut her off with a hand over her mouth. 

"No, no, just- stop," he sighed, aggravated that he didn't have the right words to say. 

"No, Gally," she said after she pulled his hand away. "I'm not trying to be dramatic or- or feeling sorry for myself, that's just how it is! I made bad decisions that put people in danger, and I'm sorry for it. That's why I stopped... trying."

Those steely eyes of his stared down into her own and she felt her heart skip a beat in the moment of silence before he took a deep breath. 

"Ok, I think I see where you're coming from but still... it's this freaking place," he gestured all around them. "Every time you've tried to do the right thing it's always looked like the right thing... right? I've never seen you do something that seems... illogical at the time, it's only later that this place throws us a curve ball we couldn't plan for, you know? It's not that you made bad decisions because your heart is always in the right place. Now, personally, I wouldn't mind if you never went in that maze again, because- well, yeah, you might not be the best runner."

Aussie giggled at the way he bobbed around saying that, trying not to hurt her feelings. 

"But you're still the best at a lot of important things that you shouldn't stop doing," he finished up, not realizing how exhausting it was to try and articulate himself. 

"Thanks," her voice came out soft and sheepish as a smile tugged the corner of her mouth. She gave a small wince at a tingle of pain in her face and put her hand to her cheek again. "I should probably go talk to Gertie."

"Yes, you should do that," he agreed. "She's been giving me grief lately and I'm ready to give her back to you. That little booger."

Aussie laughed at that which caused him to smile. 

"Hey, there's the old Aussie," he said happily.   
"Oh! Do me one favor though," he said as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side causing her eyes to widen slightly.   
"Just keep treating Hedy like that, ok? That was really good!"

She chuckled again, remembering the priceless look on Hedy's face earlier. 

"Ok, I think I can do that," she agreed. 

"Good!" Gally said rubbing his hand up and down her arm encouragingly. 

"Oh, I think I figured out what those letters you wrote on the note stand for," she suddenly blurted, feeling good enough to tease him just a little. 

"O-oh?" He seemed taken off guard by that. 

She nodded.   
"Because You Love Hedy."

He blurted out a humorless laugh with a fake smile. 

"Not in a million years. Get out of here," he said as he shooed her away. 

She giggled as she walked back toward the house. He stood there and watched her go with a soft smile on his lips, heart hammering in his chest. He'd gotten her back. She'd almost come close about those letters, if only she knew how close. That made him a little nervous. He turned and splashed some cold water on his face before venturing off to find something to do.


	25. The Band is Back Together

Aussie found Gertie by Rani's bedside. Rani herself was finally showing signs of improvement, she wasn't screaming or thrashing anymore but seemed to be actually resting and healing. Gertie was another story. 

She was curled up in an arm chair, looking very uncomfortable but seemed to be asleep nonetheless. Aussie noticed corkscrews of hair hanging down in her face, something Gertie always hated. She walked over and wound the lock of hair around her fingers, Gertie's blood shot eyes flickering open. 

"Looks like it's time for a haircut, huh?" Aussie said with a small, apologetic smile. 

Relief washed over Gertie's face as she got up and threw her arms around Aussie's shoulders, almost knocking her over. 

"I missed you," Gertie cried, burying her face in Aussie's shoulder. 

"I'm sorry," she said after brushing a wild curl out of her nose. 

They sat in the arm chair together for hours, a tangle of legs and arms, talking till they both felt better. Gertie talked about how hard it was to care for Rani because she had no idea if she was doing anything right and she could have really used Aussie's emotional support. And Aussie apologized, explaining how she felt like every decision she made led to danger for herself and others. 

"So did Gally fix you?" Gertie asked her. 

"What do you mean?" Aussie chuckled, not being able to help the warm fuzzy feelings that manifested as pink cheeks. 

"I told him he had to fix you or else," Gertie clarified. "So, if he's not responsible for this I have to make him pay, obviously."

Aussie laughed again, resting her head on the back of the chair. 

"Well... you should let him live another day then," Aussie sighed through a smile. 

"Ugh," Gertie stuck her tongue out. "You guys are gross... I'm happy for you."

"Shut up," Aussie giggled. "He told me you'd been pestering him."

"He did? I'll kill him," Gertie said it like it was no big deal and Aussie snorted. 

"I don't think you will, I think you've gotten attached to him," she was telling the truth but tried to say it like she was teasing just to feel her out. 

"I. Have. Not," she replied deliberately. "I just know how... enchanted he makes you and figured he was the best one for the job."

"Enchanted?!" Aussie repeated incredulously, one brow raised as high as it would go. 

"Your eyes get all big and- oh, Gally," Gertie used her fingers to open her eyes farther and made her voice all breathless. 

"I do not!" Aussie planted her hand over Gertie's face. "Geeeez!"

"Well, you come close. Joan says you look at him the same way you look at the dog."

Aussie's expression fell slack.   
"Do I?" She asked nervously. 

————

Gally was pleased to spot Gertie and Aussie by a little fire that evening as he did his laps around the garden. They'd missed dinner but Gertie was hand feeding snacks to Aussie as she did the monumental task of cutting the younger girls hair.

He finished his exercise in record time and quickly cleaned himself up, happy to find them where he'd last seen them. Bright blond curls littered the grass and dirt around their little bonfire and a pitcher of juice sat in a bucket of ice. 

"You're not done yet?" Gally asked as he took a seat on the log by the fire. 

"Have you seen how much hair she has?" Aussie's eyebrows shot up as she grabbed a fistful for dramatic effect making Gertie yelp. "Plus it's curly, plus she has so many cowlicks it's like a herd of them got ahold of her."

Gally grinned while Gertie scowled.

"Just whack it all down like his," Gertie told her waving an arm at Gally. 

"No! I like your crazy hair!" Aussie refused. 

"Well, it's not like you could look any uglier," Gally smirked at her, her eyes widening at this blatant assault. 

She made to stand up and come after him but Aussie held her down by the shoulders as she tried to hold in a laugh despite giving him a reprimanding glare. Gertie instead took off one of her shoes and chucked it at him. He ducked then turned to watch it tumble through the grass. 

"Haha, you lost your shoe," he mocked her with a cheeky little grin as he ate some of their blueberries. 

Aussie was looking at him slightly amused but mostly confused, her eyes clearly asking him what the heck he was up to. He just gave her a more genuine smile and her suspicions melted away. She continued snipping away here and there, so focused she didn't notice the two of them making faces at each other. Thinking she was done she came around and bent down to look at Gertie dead on to check, but just as she did, Gertie stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry. 

Aussie quickly jerked back as spittle hit her face. 

"Oh god!" Gertie slapped her hand over her mouth as Gally cracked up laughing. "I'm sorry!"

Gertie was laughing as well as Aussie wiped her face. She couldn't be mad because the sound of Gally's laughter filling the night air was like music to her ears. 

"You're done, you goob," Aussie chuckled as she put down the comb and scissors, walking over to the empty seat beside Gally. 

Gertie hopped off to retrieve her shoe, the glare she gave Gally on her way there full of mischief. On her way back she tried to blow a raspberry in his face too but he held her at arms length with one hand, no matter how she tried to get around it he was just too strong, she couldn't do it. She flailed a leg at him but he caught it mid air and started to laugh at her ridiculous predicament. 

"You done?" He asked through chuckles. 

"Fine," she panted. "Truce."

"Ok," he let her go and she doubled over trying to catch her breath. Neither noticed Aussie's eyes ping-ponging between them. 

After a few seconds she lunged for him again but he caught her by the forehead and lightly shoved her away. 

"You're not going to win!" He laughed. 

"Fine!" She cried before marching off. "I'm going to the showers and you better not think of pranking me!"

Gally shook his head at her, glad to see her in a better mood even if she was just as annoying as before. But now he was left alone with Aussie who was looking at him in bemusement, biting her lips. 

"I told you she was giving me grief," he said, feeling a little awkward under her gaze. 

"I see that," she nodded. "I missed a lot apparently."

"No, not that much," he shrugged.

"I'm glad you guys are getting along... if you can call it that."

"We get along like cats and dogs, that's what I'd call it," he chuckled. 

"Are you the cat or the dog?"

"The dog, obviously, because she's so feisty," he turned to grin at her and found her softly staring at him, her small smile punctuated by her biting her bottom lip. He shyly looked away. 

He picked at his thumbnail as the fire crackled, fully aware of Aussie staring at him with her head cocked to the side. He felt the heat rise to his cheeks and finally glanced over at her. She didn't say anything and she didn't look away, her eyes just roamed his face as her teeth worked on her bottom lip. 

"What?" He finally asked her with a little nervous laugh. 

She just silently took in each feature of his face, completely unaware that his heart was pumping to a new beat. Then she spotted something. A very unique and familiar cowlick. She reached over and brushed her fingers through his hair, it being softer than she expected. It was all clicking together now. She was about to blurt out her newly discovered theory to him when she noticed the way he was looking at her now. His gaze was intense to say the least and it froze her in her tracks. Her heart tried to escape her body when she noticed he was slowly and hesitantly moving toward her. What was he doing?!

"Here I come!" Gertie's voice called out. "My eyes better not be scarred by any mushy gushyness!"

Gally's eyes cut to the side, his lips pressed into a line as he pulled away from Aussie. She just blinked and swallowed hard. 

Gertie walked up, looking at them through her fingers like they were a horror movie. Satisfied that they weren't doing anything she lowered her hands to her hips. 

"It was too quiet," she squinted at them. 

"We're not all as loud as you, squirt," Gally sighed heavily. 

"So, are we doing another camp out?" She asked, ignoring him. 

"Sure," Aussie shrugged. "What are we gonna sleep on?"

They ended up dragging Aussie's mattress down and her and Gertie shared that while they moved Joan's prized hammock over to the fire too. Moo showed up for bed time, taking up precious mattress space as they chatted and laughed till they finally fell asleep, or pretended to be asleep at least. Gally and Aussie both unknowingly laid awake thinking about that moment earlier, each wondering what the other meant to do. 

When she finally nodded off, Aussie dreamed an important dream. A tall man with a strange mask was standing in front of her. She wasn't afraid, she knew him. He asked her to help his sister.


	26. Hedy Games

"Happy 10 day anniversary," Aussie said to Gally as she tossed him an extra roll at breakfast. 

He caught it with a look of confusion.   
"It's been 10 days?" He questioned in disbelief. 

Aussie nodded slowly as she took a seat across the table from him, knowing exactly how weird time felt there. Her three years felt like 50. 

"Yeah, but it's been such torture it feels longer," Gertie griped from beside him. 

"Tell me about it," he fired back, squinting at her. He looked up to see Aussie's eyes darting between him and Gertie, a suspicious look on her face.

She caught him looking at her with a slight scrunch to his brows and she quickly forged ahead on another topic. 

"So that means we have 20 days left till another newbie arrives... if another newbie arrives, they haven't exactly been playing by the rules lately," she muttered. 

"When do you think that ... white rabbit will arrive?" Gertie whispered the secret words. 

"I think it might have to do with the newbie," Aussie leaned in and spoke in excited but hushed tones. "The note said "arrives" just like you said, and nothing but Newbies and supplies arrives here, so it makes sense."

Gertie nodded. 

"And where do you think we have to go?" Gally asked. 

Aussie's eyes stared at the maze door just beyond him and her lips tightened.   
"Something tells me the way out is through that gosh darn shucking maze," she shrugged unhappily. "I just know it is."

The thought made Gally very uneasy, yet he had to agree with her. 

"Should we organize the runners again? We haven't had runners in- well, 10 days," Gertie pointed out. 

"That'll be a hard sell won't it?" Aussie's eyes widened briefly. "Hey, we need you to go into the, so far, unsolvable maze with the monsters and look for a way out- oh yeah, they'll jump right on that."

"Better to go through them and get out than stay here and be their neighbors for the rest of our lives, never knowing when they'll decide to waltz through the doors- I still don't know why they don't come in here!" Gertie banged her spoon on the table. 

"But we're thankful, right?" Aussie said before rolling her eyes. "This makes my head hurt."

"Well, take care of that yourself if you can, I gotta go do my shift watching over Rani... I hope she wakes up soon.." Gertie said as she took her last bite and gathered up her dishes. 

"Ok, you're doing good!" Aussie encouraged her as she started to leave for the house. "I'll come see you later!"

Gertie waved and jogged off. And that left her with Gally who was staring intently at her now. 

"What?" She asked like a deer caught in the headlights. 

"What are you up to?" He asked her bluntly, taking her aback. 

"What?" She almost choked. 

"You keep giving me and Gertie weird looks, what's up?" He explained. 

"Wha- I- nothing!" She stuttered as she avoided his 'I don't believe you for a second' look. 

"Wow. You are a terrible liar," he stated. "Just so long as you don't think there's something going on between us because, gross-"

"No, no, no, no, no!" She quickly waved her hands and dismissed that. "But it is a relief to hear, because I..."

His heart suddenly leapt for some reason. Why was it a relief? Because she what? 

"... think she might be... your... sister."

He stared at her blankly for a moment, his brain not computing what she'd just said. She just stared at him, waiting for some kind of reaction. 

"My- what?" He blinked, gripping his spoon harder. 

"I know it sounds crazy," she acknowledged. "But you guys get along like siblings, and- well... you both have the same cowlick right in front." She motioned to her own forehead. 

Realization hit him a moment after she said that. Last night when she'd touched his hair, that's what it was about! How embarrassing!He squeezed his eyes shut and put his palms over them.

"Now, I could be wrong, it's not like we have a way to know for sure. It's just a theory... are you upset?" She asked carefully, having a hard time reading his reaction. 

He just gave a slight groan. 

"It would kinda make sense with the note, you know? BYLH could be because you lost her, you're here because they took your sister and you're trying to get her back... maybe?" She rambled on in an attempt to make more sense. 

No, no, no, he thought. That's not what that meant! But how could he tell her that?

"Ok, well," he sighed as he pushed back from the table. "I'm gonna go do... something else, because I cannot think about that right now."

"I'm sorry Gally, I didn't mean to-" 

"We're good," he assured her so she wouldn't look so worried, patting the top of her head as he went by.

Still she pouted and poked at the remnants of her breakfast, telling herself not to overthink or overreact in her typical Aussie way, but to find something positive in her wheel house to do. The only problem was ... she couldn't think of anything. She gathered her dishes and decided to work in the kitchen, mindless tasks that kept her moving helped her think. 

She scraped the dirty dishes into a slop bucket for the animals. She must've been a little out of her mind to willingly wash dishes since that was her absolute least favorite chore in the whole garden, in fact, she hated it. But there she was, wasting water, rinsing everything off first because touching soggy, waterlogged food was enough to make her want to walk backward into the maze. 

"Ugh, did you see him out there?" Came a voice from behind her. She turned to see Hedy come in with the new girl, Rosa, who was to collect the slop bucket. 

Hedy got some water and sat in the shade of the kitchen, sweaty and out of breath from her morning run. 

"He's so hot," she added before taking a long drink, acting as if Aussie wasn't even there. Maybe she hadn't even noticed her since Aussie had her back turned. 

"I- well, he seems fit," Rosa fumbled, unsure of what to say. "I honestly don't remember what kind of boys I like."

"Well, my type is 'Available', and he's the only option available, therefore: my type," Hedy said as if she were proud of herself. 

Aussie fought the urge to chuckle. Oh Hedy, she thought, that does not sound good at all. In fact, it almost made Aussie feel bad for her. 

"Isn't there a little more than that to liking someone?" Rosa asked as she grabbed the slop bucket from by the sink, giving Aussie a nice smile.

Hedy scoffed.   
"Who said I liked him? I've never met someone who was so glacially cold and yet so hotheaded at the same time. But if he shuts up and holds still he's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in this shucking place."

Aussie rolled her eyes but didn't turn around or say a word, no matter how much she wanted to come to Gally's defense. Part of her wanted to see how deep a hole Hedy would dig for herself.

"I'm confused," Rosa admitted. 

"It's just physical, you know? Like, just imagine, he walks toward you till he has you backed up against the wall," Hedy began and, god help her, Aussie was imagining it. "Then he uses one of those bear claws he calls a hand to grab your hair. He tilts your face upward and kisses you on the mouth before those plump lips move down your neck all hot and wet-"

"Ow!" Aussie cried in pain but mostly surprise. A plate had slipped from her daydreaming hands, luckily it didn't break, but had landed on her foot. Wether her face was hot and red out of embarrassment or something else she couldn't say, but she felt funny. 

"Oooh, was someone eavesdropping on our little chat?" Hedy cooed. "Did you get a little too hot under the collar there Aussie?"

Aussie picked up the plate and shook her head, not bothering to look at Hedy. 

"Hedy, you really put the 'whore' in 'hormones'," she replied simply, missing the shocked but mildly impressed look on Hedy's face. 

She heard Rosa snort and try to suppress a giggle. 

"Oh Aussie," Hedy's patronizing voice was getting closer. "We all know the big boy lights your fire, that's why you've been trying so hard to keep him all to yourself."

That made Aussie turn and look at her, going on the defensive. Hedy caught that look in her eyes and waved a finger in her face. 

"Are you gonna try to deny it?!" She asked. "Little miss saves him from everything, damsel in distress?!"

"If you want him so bad, maybe you should spend less time being mean to me, and more time showing him what a good person you are. Seriously Hedy, you and I never had any problems until lately, is it all because you got womanly urges for the first guy to show up?" Aussie watched Hedy shift uncomfortably when she said that, which is what she'd hoped to do. "If you wanna break the rules and risk getting pregnant in this place that's all up to you, sweetheart. Try running from one of those monsters when you're 8 months into it- try giving birth with no hospital, I'm sure Gertie will do her best to keep you alive. If that's ok with you then, by all means, pursue it! I have no say in the matter, I don't have Gally locked up all to myself as you say, he's free to make his own choices."

"You really think I don't know that you saved him from the pit and from Thena just to get him wrapped around your little finger?" Hedy scowled. 

"I did all that because it was the right thing to do. If you think he owes me for that, then why didn't you ever try to help him?"

Hedy's face turned red so fast that Aussie slightly pulled back in surprise. 

"If he's really free to make his own choices then I'll be sure to show him what those choices are," she said with a surprising amount of malice before turning and leaving the kitchen, blazing by Rosa who was still standing there, watching the show. 

Aussie sighed, her tense shoulders relaxing as she leaned on the counter, adrenaline pumping through her from that small confrontation. 

"So..." Rosa spoke up. "Is what she said about him true?"

"Uh, what part?" Aussie asked, trying to remember everything Hedy had said. 

"That he's cold and hotheaded?" Rosa clarified as she came closer and set the slop bucket down. 

Aussie thought about that for a moment, trying to remember what kind of interactions Gally and Hedy had together. 

"Well, from her perspective I could see why she'd say that," Aussie admitted.  
"But the Gally that I know is very different. He gets scared like the rest of us do, but he still does scary things if it means helping someone. He's funny," Aussie found herself laughing a little when she remembered him and Gertie last night with her shoe. "He's.. he can be a teddy bear. An intimidating one, sure, but still pretty soft."

Rosa smiled at her description of him and became a little more eager to hear more. 

"So you like him then?" She asked. 

"Yeah," Aussie easily agreed, not thinking much of it. 

"Like... enough to do that stuff Hedy was saying?"

Aussie's eyes widened when it finally became clear what Rosa was getting at. She felt like her ears had just burst into flames.   
"Well, gosh, I dunno about that," she fumbled her words as the image of Gally leaning toward her flashed in her mind. "I-I think two people should be sure they're really, really good friends before they do stuff like-like that."

Aussie's brows furrowed slightly as she also recalled Gally cornering her in the shower, stroking her cheek and saying he'd missed his friend. She puffed her cheeks as she blew out a breath. 

Rosa smiled even bigger.   
"That's what I think too!" She exclaimed. "After listening to Hedy though I thought maybe I was crazy, but I'm glad I'm not the only one."

Aussie smiled awkwardly as she felt funny all over again. 

"I hope we get out of here and I have the chance to find a boy I want to be friends with," Rosa said bashfully before picking up the slop bucket and scurrying out of the kitchen. 

Aussie felt a tug at her heart, hoping she would get her wish. Then she tried to shake all the weirdness out of her head and get back to her chores. 

"Hey."

"AHH!" Aussie screamed and managed to chuck the plate straight up in the air, falling to a crouched position when Gally's voice suddenly called out to her. The plate bounced off a beam in the ceiling and crashed to the ground beside her. 

"Aussie!" He exclaimed as he hopped the counter and rushed to her side, grabbing her arm and helping her up.  
"What's the matter with you? Are you alright?" He asked, concern laced in his voice and visible in his drawn together brows. His face was ruddy and sweaty. 

"Me? Oh, I'm fine," she laughed nervously, slightly out of breath. "I-I was just... thinking... really hard, and you scared me."

He raised one brow at her like he knew she was just nuts enough that that could be true. Vaguely believing her he released her arm and watched her awkwardly place her fist on her hip before quickly letting it fall to her side again, fidgeting like a weirdo. 

"Did you need something?" She asked, her voice a little too high. 

"I came to get some water."

"Oh, right. Yeah, of course," she said, trying to keep from staring at the way his sweaty shirt clung to him as he walked to refrigerator.   
"Oh wait, you're hot!" She blurted and blushed immediately. "No! I mean, you shouldn't drink cold water when you're hot because it shocks your hot body."

Was she having a stroke?! With an irritated sigh she got a glass, kicking pieces of broken plate as she did so, and poured some room temperature water in it before thrusting it toward him, not daring to make eye contact. 

"It's what the runners do, it's better for you," she carefully explained. 

She didn't see him look at her like she'd grown a second head as he hesitantly took the water from her. 

"Thanks?"

As soon as he took the glass from her she dropped back down to the ground and began picking up the broken plate, making extremely animated distressed facial expressions, mentally asking herself what the heck was the matter with her. 

"Do you need some help?" He asked, stepping closer. 

She didn't dare look him in the eyes yet, but her gaze fell on his approaching feet. Why were his calves so thick? And he didn't have scrawny birdie ankles either. Why did she like his ankles?! 

"Please, God, no," she muttered. 

"Aussie, what is with you?!" He finally cried in mild frustration. 

She popped up too fast, some of the pieces of plate falling from her hands as she did so.   
"I'm fine! Really!" Her voice was too high pitched and she knew it, so she took a deep breath to steady her nerves and tried again. "Really, I am fine. I just had a ... conversation with Hedy a little while ago- it wasn't bad, it was just.. weird."

"Oh," he said as if this were an acceptable reason for her behavior. "She didn't get in your head again, did she?"

"Uh," Aussie looked to the side as she squinted one eye, knowing that in some strange way, that's exactly what Hedy did, because now she couldn't look at her teddy-bear-like friend without feeling like she was on fire. 

"Nothing I can't handle."  
She lied.


	27. Past Life

"Are you sure you're alright? We're not going to have any repeats of the last few days?" Gally asked her, blocking her path as she tried to leave the kitchen. 

"Yeah, yeah, no, no, no, I'm good. I'm good, I promise," she assured him, jumping back a little. "I'm not going to overreact, I'm gonna keep my head on straight. No drama."

He quirked one tired brow as she gave him some sort of a salute before side stepping him like he had the plague and scampering out of the kitchen. Did he smell that bad from exercising? He lifted his arm and sniffed. Oh, that was a yes, but still. 

"BYLH?" He questioned himself with a shake of his head.

Aussie careened down the path to the house, deciding now was the time to go see Gertie. She doubted the younger girl would have anything useful to say about what all just went on, but that was fine because Aussie wasn't even going to mention it. She was going to get her mind off of it. 

The house felt stuffy when she got inside, everywhere being entirely too hot today. She made it up the stairs and ran smack into Gertie as she came flying out the door. 

"Oof!" Aussie grunted as she fell on her backside. 

"Ow! .. Oh! Aussie!" Gertie cried excitedly as she hauled her to her feet again. "Rani just woke up! And she asked for you."

"What? Me!" Aussie asked as she rubbed her backside. 

Gertie towed her into the room where a pale and gaunt, but otherwise healthy looking Rani sat on the edge of the bed, sipping soup. 

"Rani, how are you?" Aussie asked as she took a seat, Gertie perching on the arm of the chair. 

"Hungry," She chuckled with a rueful grin. 

Aussie felt her heart turn heavy with guilt again. Before anything else she needed to apologize.   
"Rani, I am so sorry about what happened- what you went through. I nev-"

"What I went through," Rani cut in with a glint in her eye. "Might have been worth it."

Aussie's brows furrowed deeply.   
"What are you talking about?"

Rani reached out and grasped Aussie's hands tightly.   
"I remember," she whispered. 

"You remember... what?" Aussie asked, trying to ignore the painful grip. 

"I remember some things from before they wiped my memory," Rani clarified. "I remember you."

"What?" Aussie's eyes were wide now. 

"Yes! I remember you! You sat and talked with me and went over questionnaires with me... I think you helped people find what they were the best at," Rani explained. 

A lump formed in Aussie's throat and she had a sour feeling in her stomach. 

"What people?" Aussie asked quietly, fearing what the answer might be. 

"All of us... all the girls here. Some didn't come though, I don't know why. And there were boys too."

"What was I doing that for, do you remember?" 

Rani blinked a few times.   
"That's where it gets a little fuzzy," she admitted. "But I think from there we went to some kind of school? We were all happy to go, we thought we would be going someplace... better..."

"Better than what?" Aussie prompted when Rani trailed off with a far off look in her eyes. 

She looked more troubled now, as if remembering something else.   
"The world- it isn't how it's supposed to be, something is wrong! I can't remember what... but it's bad," she looked as if she were on the verge of tears. 

"I'm sorry," Aussie tried to soothe her despite wanting to cry herself. "I can't imagine how confusing and scary it is for you, but please... please tell me... did I send us here?"

She felt Gertie grip her shoulders tightly, and Rani finally looked at her with clear eyes, the eyes of a friend. 

"No," she said softly. "You were kind... I think you really thought we were going someplace better."

Then her expression clouded over just a little again as she shook her head softly. 

"I don't think you were supposed to be here."

Gertie advised that Rani get some more rest and took Aussie out of the room. 

"Aussie, how ya doing?" Gertie asked softly, holding onto her arm. "Are you- you're not going to freak out again, are you?"

Aussie slumped. Hadn't Gally asked her the same thing not 20 minutes ago? She got it, she shucked up, and she didn't want to do it again, but she was freaking out. 

"Ummm.." Aussie's voiced wavered. "I... I don't want to freak out like I did before, but yeah, I'm freaking out."

"Ok, ok, it's gonna be ok," Gertie tried to sound supportive and reassuring but she was just loud. She ushered Aussie into the room down the hall so they wouldn't disturb Rani. "Let's... un freak you out."

"Do you think I had anything to do with sending us here?" Aussie asked, her breathing becoming rapid. 

"No! I don't think so- I mean, it's not like I actually know, but I wouldn't believe it," Gertie said, dismayed as Aussie burst into tears. 

"I'll be ok," she sobbed. "I will, I just have to- to-"

"Feel your feelings?" Gertie supplied to which Aussie vigorously nodded.   
"Ok," she sighed as she sat beside her and placed her hand on her back. "Go ahead."

Gertie rubbed mindless circles on Aussie's back as she blubbered and cried all her worst fears and feelings until her tears ran dry and all she was left with were hiccups and snot. 

"Gertie?" She sniffled. "Do you think I was one of the bad guys?"

Gertie looked at her tear and snot streaked face and red, puffy eyes and gave her a doubtful stare.   
"No."

"But what if I was?! Would you hate me?"

"Are you kidding me?! You get sad over a dead tree, you think you used to have the stones to send people to this nightmare world? I don't think so."  
Gertie pulled her into a hug.   
"And I wouldn't hate you, no matter what you did or what you were before you got here. Because that's not who you are anymore," she said firmly. "Besides, few here have suffered more than you... even if there was a remote chance that you were involved in this- which I doubt there is, I think you've paid for it by now."

Gertie gently pushed Aussie away to look her in the eyes, feeling like she needed to do something to keep Aussie from retreating into her own head again. 

"Hey, you listen to me," she demanded, her authoritative tone catching Aussie off guard and grabbing her attention. "You are a good person, you hear me? Taking away your memory doesn't change what kind of person you are at heart. So, I think what bothers you now would have bothered you then too. You are nothing like the Makers. Say it."

Aussie swallowed hard and Gertie could see the light in her eyes starting to come back. 

"Say it!" She repeated. 

"I... am nothing like the Makers."

——

Gally had been restless all day. He had no answers to all the questions rattling around in his head, so he did the one thing he knew how to do, the one thing that might make a difference in the near future. He trained. He did pull ups and push-ups and sit ups and - just a lot of various ups. 

Joan was confused by his sudden need to push so hard but she willingly assisted him. She was clever about turning their scraps of things into ways to work out. She took a board and leaned against it as he did leg presses with her body weight, she found a particularly docile goat that let him deadlift it repeatedly until Moo couldn't endure it anymore and collected the stray member of his flock. 

She even started teaching him some weaponry, he started with knife throwing and she promised they'd work up to spears an arrows another time, there was only so much you could do in a day. 

Even now he should have been sleeping, but his mind wouldn't shut up. Thoughts of Gertie being his sister, and Aussie's weird behavior kept pestering him to no end. So there he was, jogging in the dim evening light, flirting dangerously with the possibility and probability of a twisted ankle due to poor visibility. 

He was coming around to the maze door and that little building. In the low light he could still tell the door to the building was open. Then he noticed a white blur in the tall grass that he recognized as Moo. The dog was whining and sticking close to something on the ground. Gally decided to investigate. 

As he got closer he heard a groan and the hairs on the back of his neck pricked up. Some one was on their knees and curled into a little ball clutching her stomach. He'd recognize the sloppy bun anywhere. 

"Aussie?!" He cried, running over and falling to her side. 

Fear gripped his chest seeing her like this, his mind immediately going back to what happened to Rani. Aussie couldn't be stung, could she? He had to know. He pushed her over onto her side and began inspecting her for wounds, pushing her shirt up as Gertie had done. 

"Gally? What are you doing?!" She cried, trying to push his hands away and pull her shirt down. 

"Are you hurt? Did you get stung?" He questioned as he leaned over her. 

"Wha- oh. Oh! No, I'm fine, I'm fine!" She assured him when she realized why he was so concerned. "I'm not stung."

She sat up with a grimace as she clutched her tummy. All she had was cramps from her period starting but Gally thought she was on deaths door. 

"People who are fine don't lay face down in the dirt, so what's the matter?" He pressed. 

She never had to be embarrassed about her period before because there was only girls, but for some reason she didn't want to talk to Gally about it. 

"Really, I'll be fine," she assured him as she got to her feet, still hunching over from the cramps in her abdomen. "Just gotta get to the house."

"Geez Aussie, I'm just worried about you, why do you have to fight me whenever I try to take care of you?" He snapped, surprising even himself. 

He could see the whites of Aussie's eyes glowing in the dark as she stared at him in silent shock for a moment. 

"Dude," she chuckled which was not at all what he expected from her. "I just didn't want to tell you I started my period."

"Oh," he stated, thoroughly embarrassed that he'd blurted all that out. "Well, how can I not assume the worst when you've been acting weird all day?"

"I- I'm sorry?" She ventured, not sure what he wanted from her. "Look, we can talk about this later if it's that important to you, but for now I'm just trying not to ruin these pants."

She turned and started hobbling along toward the house again. But then another cramp hit her and with a groan she dropped to the ground again. 

"Does it hurt that bad?" He asked her. 

"Do a thousand crunches and let me knee you in the junk, then it might be almost as painful," she said through grit teeth. 

She occasionally got really painful periods, but they weren't always like this. 

"If you really want to take care of me, I wouldn't fight you on it right now," she said, hoping he might do something beside just stand over her.

"Ok, come here," he knelt by her, his right hand resting lightly on her back before sliding to her waist. His other hand took hers and helped her up. 

"I'm sorry to trouble you," she said softly as he walked her toward the house. "But thanks for helping me. I've had to do the army crawl across the glade a few times before and it's not fun."  
That funny feeling had returned but it wasn't as strong as before. It was hard to feel anything but the pain anyway. 

Gally didn't say much at all after that, just helped her into the house and stayed close by her. He helped her get her pills and a drink before getting clean clothes and leaving her alone in the bathroom to clean up. 

He didn't stray too far after that either, just laid on the couch in the living room listening to the hum of the running water. It didn't last that long, and a few minutes after that he heard the door open. He sat up quickly and saw Aussie shuffle into the kitchen, arms tightly wrapped around herself and her teeth seemed to be chattering. 

Gally got up to help her do whatever she was doing, startling her because she thought he'd left. He put a kettle on the stove for her, a hot water bottle on the counter next to it while she shuffled into the living room and bundled herself in a blanket on the couch. 

"Those gosh darn jerkwads don't even give us hot running water," she complained bitterly as she rubbed the extra constricted muscles in her gut. 

Gally brought her the water bottle and she gleefully took it, her little hand flicking out and sucking it into her blanket cocoon, wriggling around as she got it in place and got comfy. He sat on the other end of the couch, still not saying much, just staying with her. 

"Can I put my feet under you?" She asked. 

"What?" 

"They're cold, can I put them under your leg?" 

"Sure," he sighed, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. 

He felt her little feet wriggle under his thigh. After a few minutes their iciness seeped through his pants and into his own skin. 

"Holy crap, how cold are your feet?" He exclaimed as he grabbed one of her ankles and pulled it out from under him, holding it in his lap instead.   
"How are you alive with feet this cold?" He asked her as he clamped his hand over her toes. 

He heard a chuckle from the blanket cocoon. 

He began rubbing her foot to generate friction and warm it up. When it wasn't frosty to the touch he put it back under his leg to keep it warm and then did the same to her other foot. 

"You're such a sweetheart, Gally," she mumbled sleepily. 

He really didn't feel like sweetheart was a description he fit, but the fact that Aussie thought so made a bashful smirk tug at the corner of his mouth. All the work he'd done that day caught up with him in an overwhelming tiredness. His hand rested on Aussie's ankle and he drifted off to sleep. 

He was in the middle of a dream before he realized he was asleep. Aussie stood in front of him on that roof top again, the fireflies swirling around her. 

"I'll help you," she said. "I'll help you protect your sister."


	28. Visitor

Gertie was not expecting the scene in the living room when she came downstairs that morning. Gally sat there, mouth open as his head rested on the back of the couch, a lumpy blanket laying beside him. Gertie approached the end of the couch opposite Gally and gently pulled the blanket back only to find a pair of feet. She bit back an idiotic grin, knowing now that Aussie had her head in his lap. She shuffled to Gally's end of the couch and daintily stuck her finger in his nose. He snorted awake, his hand instinctively grabbing at Aussie's shoulder. Gertie grinned directly into his tired and confused face

"Good morning Prince Charming. What do you have there?" She asked cheekily. 

He glared up of her for a second before rubbing his groggy face with his free hand.

"Did you two have another one of your adorable heart to hearts and cuddle session after she told you about Rani?" Gertie pressed, pursing her lips together as she tried to make her eyes as doe-like as she could. 

Gally's head snapped up as his piercing gaze caught her off guard.

"What about Rani? "He asked deadly serious.

Gertie's expression dropped.

"You mean, she didn't tell you?"

"No, Gertie, I think we established that," he said, his patience wearing dangerously thin. "But I'd really like to know, so why don't you tell me."

"Oh," Gertie cringed, kicking herself for not being able to resist teasing him and getting herself into hot water. "Well, gosh, I don't know if it's my place to say."

The look of murder in Gally's eyes prompted her to say it any way. She sat down with an exaggerated sigh.

"OK, so Rani woke up and wanted to talk to Aussie because it turns out she remembered her," Gertie began.

"Remembered her?" Gally repeated with furrowed brows.

"Yeah, from before the maze."

"How is that possible?" He asked in surprise.

"I don't have a single clue," Gertie admitted. "But she said that Aussie did evaluations or-what are they called? Aptitude tests! She'd figure out what everyone was best at before they were sent to some school or something."

"A school? Wait, who did Aussie do these tests on -supposedly?"

"All the girls here and- get this, boys too," she informed him.

He sighed and threw his head back.

"I'm so confused," he said tiredly. "Do you believe any of it?"

"I'm not sure. Rani has been sick and I don't know exactly what that thing did to her. Honestly, she might have dreamed or hallucinated the whole thing. But I think Aussie believes her. She got kind of scared, she asked Rani if she had any thing to do with sending us here to the maze. Rani didn't think so. She said something weird though, she didn't think Aussie was supposed to be here."

Out of every thing Gertie just said, that last bit made the most sense. He didn't think she was meant to be here either, what with her being so different from most of the girls. Like Gertie mentioned the night that Thena punched her, Aussie wasn't the tough and intelligent variety that predominantly populated the Garden, but more emotional and creative. There had to be some kind of reason or explanation for this.

"Why didn't she mention any of this to me last night?" He said quietly as he squeezed Aussie's shoulder lightly, her head still resting on his leg as she slept on. 

"What were you guys up to then?" Gertie asked suspiciously, squinting at him. 

"I found her out side, collapsed from period cramps," He explained succinctly.

Gertie eyed him for a moment more then shrugged.

"She probably wasn't thinking of much else, she doesn't think at all when the cramps hit her like that," Gertie tried to reassure him. "Or maybe she's trying not to let it get to her."

For the next few days Aussie didn't bring it up at all, though it was pretty much all she could think about. She stayed in the house until her period was pretty much over and hung out with Rani alot, talking about what she remembered. Rani finally got the ok from Gertie to end her bedrest and started to build up her strength again by helping Aussie with the chores. She eyed the maze doors nervously, obviously traumatized by what happened to her in there. She never told Aussie the details of the creature or the attack, and Aussie was too worried about Rani's mental health to ask for those details. The only thing that did come from it all was the name: Grievers.

Gally kept his training up everyday, always asking Joan to make it harder for him and her always begging him to take it easier so he wouldn't hurt himself and be put out of commission. He always made sure to pop in the house to check on Aussie in the evenings when the other girls had gone to sleep. Once she stopped crashing in the house, he vacated her little home for her, setting the tent up near it and staying in that instead.

She was in his dreams every night, new memories becoming clearer each time. He didn't trust these memories to be true yet, he just wasn't really sure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him no matter how much his gut told him to believe. He wouldn't mention it to anyone until he could make more sense of it all.

That particular night as he lay in the tent and fell into a deep sleep, he dreamed an old dream. He was carrying Aussie through the maze again. He still felt her fingers tracing on his back and her breath on his neck as they walked down a long, straight corridor of the maze, a figure on the horizon waving to him again. Suddenly, Aussie pulled back, her face filling his vision as her hands cradled his cheeks.

"You remembered her," she whispered with a smile before turning to look over her shoulder.

The figure on the horizon was no longer just a figure, but clearly Gertie. Somehow it was clear to him now that Aussie had been right all along, Gertie was his sister. It just felt true.

"So, the note," Gally spoke in his dream for the first time. "It was 'Because You Love Her', but it was about my sister?"

Aussie turned and looked at him, her soft gaze roaming his features for a moment.

"I don't know, was it?" She asked softly as she leaned closer and brushed her nose against his.

He tilted his face up, fully intending to finally get the kiss that had so far eluded him, even if he had to settle for it in a dream. Sad to say, he was not going to get that kiss either. In fact, he was slowly waking up to a horrifying reality. The dream had felt so real, the pressure on his hips from carrying Aussie and the breath on his face was so convincing because it was real. He realized that as he came to, his hand reaching up and landing on a warm, smooth thigh beside his waist as hands moved up his chest. But something was wrong, something didn't feel right to him. It felt like a cold hand had reached into his chest and grabbed his heart with a vice-like grip. 

"Aussie?" He asked, half dreading the answer, but it didn't come.

Finally he concluded that the thigh he still had his hand on was far too thick and muscular to be Aussie's. He sprung into action immediately, throwing the girl off of him and scrambling in the opposite direction, out of the tent. Once he was clear of it he turned to face the tent again, breathing heavily, waiting to see who had just tried to molest him. 

Aussie had been up to go to the bathroom when some motion caught her eye. It looked like Gally had just gone into his tent, probably returning from his own trip to the bathroom or to get a drink of water. Either way she thought nothing of it as she walked by. But then she swore she heard Gally call her name. She stopped and turned back only to see Gally burst from his tent like he'd just discovered a snake in it. And in a way he had, because, a moment later, Hedy hesitantly stepped out of the tent.


	29. Demons Run

Aussie's eyes practically bugged out of her head when Hedy stepped out of the tent. Even Gally himself reeled back a few steps to Aussie's surprise. She had no idea what was going on or why she thought she'd heard her name, maybe- probably this was none of her business, but she decided to stay just to make sure they were both ok. At least that's how she justified her morbid curiosity. 

She was behind Gally and saw the rapid rise and fall of his broad shoulders. His hands went to his head, running over his hair, before his arms went out wide. 

"Wha- what are you doing?" He asked her quietly but his tone and body language was quite frenetic. 

Hedy stood there in shorts so short Aussie assumed she'd find some cut off shorts legs somewhere in the garden one day, and a button up shirt that was not buttoned up. She shuffled nervously, not her usual confident self. 

"I just- I wanted you," she admitted softly. 

His hands landed heavily on his hips as he shook his head.   
"So this is what you do?!" He paced in a small circle before facing her again, his posture just exuding anger. "In my sleep?!"

"I thought you'd wake up and... be pleasantly surprised and just go with it," she muttered. 

"Really? After I told you I had no interest in being your friend, you thought I'd just go with it?" 

"We don't have to be friends to-"

"Shut up."

Hedy's head ducked just a bit at his low, angry tone. Somehow it felt scarier than if he had yelled. If she hadn't done something so immoral Aussie would have felt bad for her. 

"Have you done this before?" He asked her. 

She shook her head, avoiding his gaze. 

"Have you done this before?" He asked again taking one quick step toward her. 

"No!" She said as she flinched backward, almost tripping back into the tent. 

Gally covered his face with his hands and stood there in silence for a moment. 

"What are you going to do?" Her voice had a nervous edge to it. "Are you going to tell Aussie and the others?"

He looked up and saw the fear glimmering in her eyes and he almost felt bad. 

"Please, please don't tell. I don't want to get banished! Please, I'll do anything!" She begged and pleaded. 

Gally seemed to be mulling it over for a moment and Aussie was curious to see what he would do. 

"If you leave me alone- and by that I mean don't speak to me or even come near me if at all possible, I won't tell," he bargained. "But only for as long as you stay away from me. There's none of this 3 strikes thing, it's one strike. You got it?"

She nodded fervently. 

"Get out of here," he jerked his chin toward the camp the girls slept in and she immediately bolted off before he could change his mind. 

Aussie bit her lips, wondering if she should come out and try to comfort him, or come out and act is if she hadn't witnessed the whole thing, or just leave it be and go back to bed. Most of those options were taken off the table when Gally suddenly spun on his heel and started marching toward her little house. 

She quickly darted behind the tree further so he wouldn't catch her eavesdropping, and watched him falter for a second at the bottom of her stairs, his hand gripping the rail so tightly she could tell his knuckles were white even in the dark. Finally he charged up the stairs as well and softly knocked on her door, shifting nervously as his hands wouldn't keep still. He bit his thumbnail, ran his hands over his hair and his face and crossed his arms in the span of like, 4 seconds. Finally Aussie came to her senses and realized that she nor anyone else was inside to answer him, and he seemed to be getting more agitated as he knocked again and softly called her name. 

As quietly as she could manage she sped back to the path and started walking along it like she was just now returning from the bathrooms. She picked up her pace because she was still too far off to call to him without waking someone up. She went even faster when she saw him sit on the top stair and cradle his head in his hands. 

"Gally? What's wrong?" She panted as she came flying up the steps. 

He lifted his head and she saw tears in his eyes. She was so taken aback she froze halfway up the steps as she looked at him. Seeing someone so big and strong and tough actually shed tears was enough to make her want to cry too. Her nose stung as she slowly approached him, crouching on the steps in front of him. 

"Gally, are you alright?" She asked softly. She was afraid to touch him given what had just happened to him. She wouldn't be able to bear it if he flinched away from her. 

He seemed relieved to see her.   
"Yeah, it was just... a bad dream," he said as he wiped his eyes. "I just- I wanted to, uh... I just wanted to see you."

Oh god she really was going to cry.   
"I'm right here," she almost croaked with the lump in her throat. She just wanted so bad to comfort him, she had to do something. "What can I do for you? Because if there's anything I could do to make you feel better I'd do it in a heart beat, I just have, like, no idea what to do. Are you hungry? Anything you want, I will cook it right now, I swear to god."

A small grin broke out on his face, escalating till it was a full blown smile that melted her heart. His smiles were so rare she forgot how good they looked, each and every one blew her away like she was seeing it for the first time. 

"I actually feel better already," he told her and went to stand up. 

Aussie straightened up as well, staring up from two steps below him. 

"Do you want me to sit up with you for a bit?" She asked as he squeezed by and began to go down the stairs. 

He stopped one stair below her, almost eye to eye with her now. 

"That's ok, you should go back to bed," he said as he scratched the back of his neck. "But... could you do me one favor real quick?"

She nodded vigorously, staring into his eyes before hers roamed the rest of his face as it was perfectly bathed in the moonlight. It highlighted his Cupid's bow which starkly contrasted with the pools of shadows in the deep corners of his lips. His tongue poked out one of those corners as he seemed to gather courage. 

"Can I hug you?" He finally asked. 

The words were barely out of his mouth before her arms were flung around his neck, pulling him in tightly. His arms wrapped just as tightly around her waist. She wasn't going to let go until he did, and she dared to cradle the back of his head for a moment. This hug was so different than the one he'd given her before, but somehow similar as well. The first time he was giving her what she needed, and now she was giving him what he needed. 

His chest pressed against her as he took a deep breath and let it out before his arms slowly unwound from her, his hands rested on her waist and he pulled back. Her own arms unwound and rested atop of his, her hands on his shoulders. She had this foreign feeling urge to touch his face, trace that Cupid's bow, run her thumb along the corners of his mouth and his cheeks, stroke his hair. It seemed a weird desire considering she hadn't known him very long at all. 

"Thanks," he whispered, his eyes seemed to roam her face just as much as she was staring at him. He turned quickly as if to keep himself from doing something and left. 

She stood there watching him go, arms wrapped around herself now, worrying about him, missing the warmth and comfort of holding him and being held. This was an odd sensation for Aussie because, despite being warm and empathetic towards others, it still took her quite a while to form a close bond with the other girls. Some of them she never grew to trust or like all that much, but that never stopped her from being kind to them and try to help them get along as best they could as newbies. So why the heck would her heart be so willing to go out to literally the first man she ever met?

Once he was out of sight she sighed and headed into her house, flopping down on her bed and clumsily pulling the blanket over her. She stared at the ceiling, sleep being the farthest thing from her. Why did he call her name, she wondered again. Did he think it was her in there with him? What would he have done if it was? What exactly happened in there? That was a worse thought that she refused to entertain further. 

It was almost dawn before she had finally got too tired to think about things anymore, so she was yawning as she peeled potatoes later that day. She was still a little worried about Gally since he'd been upset enough to cry about it, but she trusted Joan to look out for him. 

She yawned again and kept peeling when she heard footsteps approach. She felt the unmistakable presence of evil and knew it was Hedy before she even saw her. She bit her lips and tried to remember how meek and scared she'd seemed last night and decided not to jump to judgements. She kept peeling her potatoes by the sink and waited for whatever was to come. 

"So," Hedy said with a smug tone and Aussie's will to give her the benefit of the doubt evaporated instantly. "Gally got some hands on experience with his options last night."

Aussie couldn't believe it. She'd been so ultimately rejected last night, but she was going to come here and boast in a lie? Aussie bit her tongue as she gently placed the potato and peeler down in the sink, picking up the knife instead, the glint of the blade getting Hedy's attention immediately when Aussie turned around. 

"Oh really?" Aussie asked with faux intrigue. "How much did you experience before he threw you out?"

She jabbed the tip of the knife straight down into the cutting board with a thud, thinking of the tears Gally shed, the anger in her building to a fever pitch. Hedy flinched. 

"He didn't throw me out," she continued to lie. Or perhaps that really was true, given that Gally had fled his tent. 

"Hmmm so what would you call what happened last night?" Aussie asked, pursed lips and furrowed brow daring Hedy to lie one more time. 

Hedy's eyes widened and her crossed arms drooped slightly. 

"Yeah, I saw the whole thing," Aussie informed her, wishing her look could kill. 

"You did?" Hedy's voice was small, the arrogance completely drained from it. 

Aussie pulled the knife up and out of the board, examining it casually as she nodded. 

"So, what, are you going to tell on me? Banish me?" Hedy sneered even though her eyes were rimmed with tears. 

Aussie scoffed. Honestly, how stupid could this girl be? She'd just been bragging to Aussie about breaking the rules and now she was worried about the consequences? 

Aussie shook her head.   
"No, I'm not going to tell on you," Aussie told her, gesturing with knife now. "I don't see the need to involve the whole counsel when I'm sure we can work this out between ourselves. As long as Gally sees fit to keep quiet I will too so long as this childish behavior stops. No more taunting or insulting, can you manage that?"

Hedy swallowed hard before giving a hesitant but firm nod in agreement. 

"Good!" Aussie smiled brightly with a touch of menace. "Bye bye now."


	30. The Goat?

The Garden knew one day of true peace, one that Aussie felt might last for a while. Sure, the order the note had given them to go at some point always kind of loomed on the horizon, but there was a little over a week left until the next newbie was supposed to arrive so she figured she had enough time to be a little hopeful. 

Hedy had avoided her as much as possible, and when they were forced to interact on the counsel they were both civil to each other. Gally seemed to be getting stronger everyday, that or Aussie was just paying more attention. Either way it kept her blissfully unaware of the trouble that had started brewing in the Garden over the past few days. 

Aussie was in the vegetable garden doing a terrible job because she was distracted by Gally practicing his archery skills under Joan's tutelage. His muscles, her shears missed the vine and snipped empty air. His veins, her shears clipped something they definitely shouldn't have. How long were his legs? And why did he look so good in Capri length pants?!

"What are you doing to that poor tomato plant?" 

Aussie jumped at the voice behind her, the shears slipping from her hand and falling in the dirt. She whipped her head around to find Georgia looming over her with a smirk just short of lecherous. Aussie grimaced as she struggled with the large segment she'd accidentally severed off their 10 foot tall plant. 

"Don't take those shears near Gally, you might take off something he won't forgive you for."

"Can I help you with something? Do you need the gutters in your brain cleaned?" Aussie asked, earning a chuckle from her. 

"I was just wondering if you've noticed anything weird today?" 

Aussie looked up at her with a quirked brow.   
"As a matter of fact, yes! We're all in a giant maze! And, I don't know if it's the same for you, but I can't remember anything from before I got here," Aussie said sarcastically before giving a good natured smile to show she was just teasing. 

"Oh hurr hurr, yes, I mean besides that, smart Alec," Georgia almost laughed as she made a stupid face at her. 

"No, what's up?" Aussie asked as she attempted to cover up her tomato misdeed. 

"Well, I've been suspicious of Hedy's uncharacteristically good behavior of the past few days," Georgia began pacing. "At first I thought that maybe she'd come to her senses, but now I think she's up to something... and she's just been trying to stay under the radar about it, ya know?"

Maybe it's because I blackmailed her into behaving herself, Aussie thought to herself.   
"Mmm, and what is she up to? Supposedly?" She asked aloud. 

"I don't know. But one of the goats is missing."

Aussie had opened her mouth before she realized what exactly Georgia had said. Her brows furrowed as she turned to look at her again. 

"One of the goats is missing?" She repeated as she stood up, brushing the dirt from her knees. "And... how do you know this? Do you daily count the goats?"

"Unnecessary. It's the most demonic one there is, hard to miss. But she is missing."

Aussie frowned almost offended. She happened to have a great relationship with all the goats and couldn't think of any one of them as being demonic. Still, she could gather which one Georgia was talking about since there was one particularly large goat with mismatched and wonky horns. Honestly it was Aussie's favorite goat, but only Moo knew that. 

"Big Veronica?" Aussie asked. "Are you sure she didn't get her horns stuck in the trough again?"

"Pretty darn," Georgia nodded. 

Aussie was interrupted from her goat thoughts and visibly startled when an ear piercing whistle rang across the garden. With shoulders hiked up to her ears she turned to see Joan and Gally beckoning to her somewhat urgently. 

"Oop, looks like he wants you," Georgia chimed, earning a withering look from Aussie. 

"You're coming with, maybe this involves your goat mystery."

"Leave the shears."

"Shut up."

Georgia and Aussie approached Gally and Joan who were deep in a hushed conversation. 

"What's up?" Aussie asked, side eyeing Georgia who was still wearing a creepy grin. 

Gally looked disgruntled, holding a bow in one hand and other resting on his hip. 

"So," Joan sighed as she turned toward them, Aussie pulling back slightly from the arrow she waved in her hand. "Something happened that we need to investigate."

Aussie's confused eyes landed on the tip of the arrow and saw it covered in dirt and... blood?

"Is that blood?" She asked, her eyes not straying from it for a second. 

"Yes," Joan answered. 

There was a pause. 

"How did it get there?" Was Aussie's next question. She was pretty sure Gally didn't impale anyone during his lesson or this would be a completely different conversation. 

"Come here," Joan wagged her fingers for her to follow. 

"How wonderfully cryptic of you," Aussie muttered as she followed Joan and Gally just beyond the targets. 

The targets were set up in front of the wooded area since the girls didn't usually need to go in there. The trees usually caught stray arrows before they could get too far. Joan stopped at the edge of the trees and looked at Aussie. 

"Gally was shooting targets and a stray arrow landed here," she gestured down at the ground to small, dark, dirty wet spot on the rocky soil. 

"Ok, well... that doesn't look like a lot of blood, so it's probably fine, right? Maybe one of the animals got hurt? Georgia said one of the goats was missing, maybe she got hurt and went to hide in the woods."

Joan and Gally shared a glance with a hint of pity and an annoying amount of knowing better. 

"What?" Aussie asked as she looked between them. 

"There's more," Joan informed her. 

Aussie just looked at her knowing what she wasn't saying. There wasn't just more, there was a lot. And when you lose a lot of blood you could become very dead. 

"Alrighty then. We're following a blood trail into the woods today? That's what we're doing?" Aussie asked nervously pressing her lips together. 

"Looks like it," Joan shrugged. 

"Yay," Aussie said softly as she followed Joan and Gally into the woods, following the blood trail. 

Sometimes there would be big gaps and they'd have to split up and search for where it picked up again. Aussie had just found the trail again and was about to call out for everyone to join her when she noticed one of the smaller trees. It was leaning over, its side roughly split as if it had been struck by something. She looked to her left and saw another tree in the same condition. Her heart was starting to beat faster as her apprehension grew. It looked like something big had been in the woods, and who knew if it was still there or not. 

Breathing more heavily Aussie started to back away, scanning the trees for any movement, too scared to scream for the others in case she gave away her location to something other than her friends. Her foot landed on a root and her hands went back to brace against the tree behind her. She swallowed hard, still looking for signs of danger when something in her brain finally told her that trees aren't usually wet. 

She took her hand off the tree and held it up in front of her. There was a mix of dark and bright red blood covering her hand and arm where it had touched the tree. She spun around to see Big Veronica's lifeless eyes staring back down at her. 

Gally never ran as fast as he did when Aussie's scream tore through the woods. He found her on the ground, propped up on her elbows as if she'd fallen backwards, her eyes wide with horror. He dropped down by her side, noticing how the dirt clung to her arms, the red still visible in places. He pulse quickened. 

"Are you hurt?" He asked her even though he was thoroughly inspecting each arm for injuries already. 

"No, it's- it's Veronica," her voice was hollow and on the verge of tears as she pointed at something behind him with a shaking hand. 

Gally's eyes widened. Had Aussie just discovered another dead girl?

"Holy shuck!" Georgia yelled as she skidded to a halt by them, Joan coming up short just behind her. 

Gally finally turned his attention away from Aussie even though he still held her hand. He followed her gaze and saw a goat- well, most of a goat, strewn through the tree like it was a morbid Christmas tree from hell. 

"Oh god," Gally also exclaimed, his head jerking back from the shock of it all. He was glad it wasn't, in fact, a human being, but it was still traumatic to see. 

He turned back to Aussie, trying to get between her and the bloody nightmare. 

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" He asked her. 

"Yeah, I'm ok. Just got the bejeezus scared out of me is all," she admitted holding her disgusting arms out and away from her. 

"Well, that solves the mystery of the missing goat," Georgia said as Joan put her fist against her lips as she gagged. "Now we have the mystery of the dead goat."

"P-poor Veronica," Aussie's voice was as tremored as her wobbly bottom lip. "She was a good goat."

"I'm going to get her cleaned up," Gally informed Georgia and Joan as he got behind Aussie and picked her up by the armpits, her back covered in blood too. "Come on Aussie."

He walked her out of the woods and toward the showers. He first cleaned his own hands before turning to the shell shocked girl beside him. 

"I uh, I'm sorry about the goat," he said awkwardly. 

Aussie reached up, too quick for him to stop her, and wiped away a tear and smeared dirt and blood on her face instead. 

"Aussie no!" He cried too late as she looked at her hand in horror. 

"Oh god!" She cried. 

"Just shower, I'll go get you clean clothes," he promised before bolting away to the house. 

Gertie came down the stairs when she heard the commotion. She found Gally in the hall closet rifling through the clothes bins. 

"Can I help you?" She asked, arms crossed as she leaned on the door frame. 

"Thank you, yes," he said relieved. "I need a change of clothes for Aussie."

Her eyes widened.   
"For-why?"

"I will tell you, just help me first. Aussie is out there in the shower right now without a change of clothes," he told her. 

"And why is that?" Gertie asked with growing concern and suspicion as she grabbed clothes that she knew would fit Aussie. 

"She got dirty. If you go out in the woods you'll see why," he said as he grabbed the clothes from her and a towel from the shelf before zooming back out of the house. 

"What the heck are you talking about?! What did you do to her?" She exclaimed as she chased after him. 

"One of the goats is dead, she got blood on her when she found it," he explained as she desperately tried to keep up with him. 

"That's the most ominous thing I've heard in a long time," Gertie said as they finally arrived at the showers.   
"Oh, don't you dare," Gertie said as she grabbed the towel and clothes from him. "You're not getting anywhere near her while she's nude!"

His lips tightened as he felt the heat rise to his cheeks. Joan had informed him that his blushes were very easy to spot so he turned away and tried to get himself back to normal. 

Gertie threw the towel over the privacy wall and set the clothes on a crate that she moved in front of the opening into the stall. A few seconds later the water turned off and the towel slipped over the wall. A moment after that Aussie appeared briefly to grab the clothes. A moment of exposed collar bones and shoulder blades that made Gally's sour expression go completely slack. 

He felt a slap to his cheek and flinched. Gertie glared up angrily at him. 

"You keep your pervert eyes off of her."

"You're the worst."


	31. Strategy

Aussie appeared again, fully clothed, furiously towel drying her hair. Gertie regretted the shirt she picked for her because her wet hair had left almost transparent spots on the front and back. She glared at Gally to make sure he was behaving himself, and he just stared her down in return. She noticed his freckles slowly disappear however and lifted her hand to give him another good smack, but he pushed her away before she could. 

Aussie flung the towel over the stall to dry and raked her fingers through her damp hair. It was usually pin straight and limp as an overdone noodle, but when it was wet it was practically alive. Her hair tie was wet and lying in the pile of her wet, blood stained clothes in the shower. She waved her hands in surrender, not about to deal with that right then. 

"Oh, Gertie!" Aussie finally noticed her as she still attempted to antagonize Gally. "Did he tell you what happened?"

"Vaguely," Gertie grunted. "Very vaguely!"

"Well, it's horrible but I need you to come look at it. I need your professional opinion," Aussie told her, pushing back a tendril of hair that had fallen in her face. 

"My opinion on what, a dead goat?" Gertie asked. 

"Oh, no," Aussie assured her. "Not just a dead goat, a murdered goat."

Gertie stared up at her in disbelief, waiting for her to give some sign of joking, and she glanced at Gally to see if he would roll his eyes or give something away, but both of them looked dead serious. 

"Oh yikes."

"Are you sure you wanna go back there?" Gally asked Aussie. 

"No," Aussie blurted with a hint of a laugh, knowing full well how ridiculous it was. "But I have a suspicion and I just- I gotta know if I'm right."

"Ok," Gally sighed before heading back to scene of the crime, Aussie and Gertie trailing along with him. 

"What the..." Gertie whispered when they came across the blood trail again. 

"It's really bad, so just try to brace yourself," Gally told her. 

Gertie was already unnerved. How badly could a goat die here with no predators?

Her eyes landed on the broken tree before Gally tapped her shoulder and pointed at the real massacre. She'd forgotten that they did live in a place with predators. Large ones that could knock over trees and fling bits of goat in them as well. 

Grievers. 

It wasn't the sight of blood and guts that bothered Gertie, those things never had. It was the thought of one of monsters being that close to them, that they didn't just stay in the maze anymore. 

"You ok?" Gally asked her. 

She swallowed hard and nodded. Joan was keeping a small crowd of girls who had come to investigate Aussie's scream back, but Georgia was closely examining things. Gertie joined her. 

Gally noticed that Aussie wasn't by his side anymore and looked around for her. She was off near the broken trees and appeared to be searching for something. 

"What are you doing?" He asked as he caught up with her. 

"Something doesn't add up here," she said as she continued to meander aimlessly, staring at the ground. 

"Like what?"

She straightened up and faced him, not flinching when he moved a tendril of hair out of her face as she started talking. 

"I know it looks like a griever was here, but I don't think there was," she said. "I think it's staged."

"Aussie, will you come help me with the girls here?" Joan called. 

"Yeah, ok," Aussie said somewhat reluctantly as she left her search and went over to the crowd of girls, herding them away from the gore and back to the garden. 

Georgia went to follow but Gertie grabbed her shoulder with a string of incoherent noises.   
"I'm not examining this thing by myself, you're staying."

"Alright, alright," Georgia agreed. 

"What does this look like to you guys?" Gally asked them, wondering if they had the same suspicions Aussie did. 

"At first glance," Georgia shrugged. "Looks like a Griever came in here and killed a goat."

"At first glance," Gally repeated, waiting for her to put in her real opinion. 

"Yeah, that's why we're giving it a second glance. I'm no expert, but I know Gertie is, and she's probably going to confirm my theory that an animal didn't do this," Georgia went on to explain. 

"Alright, well, have fun with that," Gally nodded, hoping they wouldn't ask him to help get the goat out of the tree. 

As he began walking off he felt Gertie grab his hand and turned to her with mild surprise. 

"Please," she said softly before clearing her throat. "Can you stay? We'd feel safer if you did. I don't know if a griever or a girl did this but we don't want to be left alone in the woods with whatever did do this."

Gally was surprised at her admittance of fear but knew better than to mess with her about it. He didn't think Georgia really cared either way, but it was obvious that Gertie wanted him there. 

"Sure, I'll stay," he nodded. "But I'm not touching anything."

Hours passed as Gally swatted flies away and occasionally let Gertie climb on his shoulders to reach things or see the area better, but swore he'd drop her the instant any of that goat touched him. 

Meanwhile Aussie was explaining things to the girls and trying to keep them calm and out of the woods. On the inside she was dying to know what Gertie and Georgia might have discovered, and where the heck Gally had gone. Mostly she was distracted by the fact that Hedy was being most helpful and nice to the other girls, talking consolingly with them. Maybe she could pull herself together... in an emergency at least. 

"They've settled down, I'm gonna go check on Gertie," Aussie whispered to Joan. 

"Better you than me," Joan saluted, vowing never to step foot in those woods again, her throat still burning from almost throwing up. 

Aussie zipped through the woods, not eager to see the remains of her favorite goat, but to find out what was really going on. She found Georgia and Gally sharing a log as Gertie tossed goat parts into the wheelbarrow. Gally gave her a little wave as she approached. 

"When did you come get the wheelbarrow?" Aussie asked as she pointed at it. She hadn't noticed any of them come out and retrieve it from the garden. 

"It was over near the targets- that's really your first question?" Gertie questioned her as she chucked another rancid piece of poor Veronica in the wheel barrow. "Not, 'hey Gertie, why are you chucking goat chunks in a wheelbarrow all by yourself?' Or 'so what did you find out?' Oh no, the wheelbarrow is important."

Aussie's eyebrows were raised as high as they could go and so were her hands.   
"I'm sorry. So... what did you find out?"

"Well, tell me this," Gertie said as she beckoned her over with a bloody hand. Aussie reluctantly stepped over to her. "Now, where did you touch this tree?"

"Let's see, I.." Aussie said as she turned her back to it, spotted the broken trees and positioned herself just so. "I backed up against it and my hands were here."  
She imitated her stance, without touching the tree of course, and Gertie assessed where her hands would have been. 

"And you didn't touch it anywhere else?" Gertie asked her just to receive an are you stupid? look. 

"No, I looked at my hand, turned around, stared into the dead eyes of Big Veronica and fell on my butt," Aussie recounted. 

"Ok," Gertie nodded. "This was staged."

"Yes! I knew it!" Aussie cheered as she pumped her fist in the air. 

"Wait, how do you know just from that?" Gally asked as he stood up. 

"For a few reasons my dear dummies," Gertie began. "One: no bones were crushed. If a griever manhandled a goat like this it would have broken a bone or two. Two: no teeth marks or tearing. All the cuts were made with a sharp instrument. And finally three, the most painfully obvious, this bloody handprint!"

She gestured just above her head to a faint but recognizable bloody handprint, as if someone had leaned against the tree for balance. 

"Oh!" Aussie said in surprise causing Gally to quickly glance down at her. 

"So how did you know?" He asked with a hint of intrigue. 

"There weren't any foot prints- or spike prints? Whatever you want to call them, there weren't any signs of one actually walking through here," she explained.   
Her face suddenly turned horrified in realization.   
"So what psychopath killed Veronica and did this to her?!" She exclaimed. 

"Can I make a suggestion?" Georgia piped up. "Let's not tell anyone it was staged. Let's go along with it. Think about it, if someone staged all this to look like a griever attack they must have some kind of goal. If we let them know we're onto them we may never catch them. But if they think they're in the clear we might be able to catch them in the act of phase 2."

They all turned to Aussie who flinched back from the attention.   
"What are you all looking at me for, I suck at strategery, if you say it's a good plan I believe you," she said. "Let's tell Joan, though. Just Joan."

"Sounds good," Georgia agreed. 

After that Aussie got a shovel and helped Gertie gather the rest of Veronica so they could dispose of her properly, in this case, set her on fire since they didn't have time to dig a grave. 

They pulled Joan aside and told her the truth and the plan. Dinner that night was a somber affair indeed and the girls had gotten it into their head that they were all going to cram into the basement that night, as many as would fit, just to be safe. Aussie's heart dropped. She knew she should play along but there was no chance she was sleeping on that basement floor. She offered to stay in her own house instead to make room for someone else down there. Gertie said she would join her to keep her safe. Really she just knew that Gally would follow Aussie and she wanted to have Gally around as well. 

When the girls had gone into the basement for the night Gally brought the mat from his tent up to Aussie's house, spreading it as best her could on her small floor space. Aussie had brought Moo in with them, not wanting him to be the next thing strewn through a tree. Georgia showed up unexpectedly when they were all settling down, Gertie and Aussie sharing her small bed and Gally on the floor with Moo. 

"I couldn't take it down there, way too many people," Georgia explained. "And I'm sorry but I am not sleeping with Gally."

Gertie put a finger to her nose.   
"Not it!" She exclaimed. 

"Don't be mean about it," Aussie muttered at them as she slipped off the bed and onto the floor beside Gally, Georgia taking her spot on the bed and tossing her a pillow. 

Gertie tried to give Gally a warning look to behave himself and he returned it with a cheeky little smirk. 

Aussie pet Moo, unable to fall asleep for some reason. She kept thinking of Hedy and what she did to Gally, how she didn't want Gally to be uncomfortable with her being so close to him. 

"Gally, are you awake?" She whispered very quietly as she stared at the ceiling. 

"Mhm," he hummed. 

"I- I have a confession to make," she began. "That night you said you had a bad dream... I know what really happened. Well, I know everything after you jumped out of the tent. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, it was just an accident. I was walking back from the bathroom. And I stuck around because I wanted to make sure you were ok. Anyway, I'm telling you this because- I don't know what Hedy did to you but I don't want you to be afraid or uncomfortable with me right now. I'd never do anything bad to you."

There was a heavy silence that weighed on her chest. 

"I know you wouldn't," he finally said. "Don't worry about it."

"But I'm getting pretty good at worrying about you," Aussie said in an effort to lighten the mood.

A sharp exhale that may have been a small laugh punctuated the darkness.   
"I guess that's true," he admitted. 

She smiled. The thought of the morning she woke up in his arms surfaced in her mind and she couldn't resist the urge to give him a little touch. 

"Goodnight Gally," she whispered as she put her hand on his shoulder for a second. 

"Goodnight Aussie," he replied. 

She was finally able to fall asleep.


	32. The Box

Aussie was pulled from a very pleasant slumber. As she slowly came around from her unusually blissful sleep she remembered that she was sharing the floor with Gally, so that's probably who's hand she was holding close to her chest. Her eyes fluttered open to see Gally laying on his side facing her, their foreheads almost touching. When she looked up her nose slightly brushed his and she felt his hand grip hers a little before a contented little hum resonated in his throat. Aussie felt a little smile tug on the corner of her mouth, but it was soon erased by a familiar noise, the one that woke her up in the first place. 

Aussie would recognize the creak of the box doors being opened anywhere. But no alarm had gone off, who was opening them and why?

She slowly sat up and tried to gently slip her hands from Gally's but he held tight and his eyes opened. She put her free hand to her lips to shush him as she nodded toward the window. They crouched shoulder to shoulder as they looked across the dimly lit Garden. It looked like almost all the girls were gathered around the box. Seeing it wasn't grievers, Aussie jumped up and shook Gertie and Georgia before running out of her house, a sleepy and confused Gally hot on her heels. 

"What's going on?" Aussie asked as she came up to the box and saw the black abyss of the empty shaft. 

The girls parted and she saw Hedy standing there with a rope, illuminated by the few lanterns that were now lit. 

"What are you doing?" Aussie asked gravely as a bad feeling took over her gut. 

Gertie and Georgia caught up just then and stopped short in shock at the gaping pit in front of them. Gertie felt Gally grab her shoulder before he whispered for her to go find Joan. That was when she realized that not all the girls had gathered at the box. She crept away into the shadows before sprinting for the house. 

"Hedy figured it out," Lanie said with a pleased smile. "The box is the rabbit hole you talked about."

"What?" Aussie asked confused. 

"It just makes sense, doesn't it? It'll be so-"

"Uh, no it doesn't make sense," Aussie interrupted. "Lanie, Hedy, you were both here when we tried the box before. We dropped so much stuff down it, it's almost bottomless-"

"But it's not," Hedy interrupted her. "The box comes from somewhere and that's where we're going."

Aussie gave her a look of disbelief.   
"This is crazy! We've tried this before, the White Rabbit clue we're supposed to follow hasn't even shown up, and if it was this simple why is there a whole shucking maze out there?" Aussie listed off on her fingers, getting annoyed by the lack of reason. She'd taken a step forward and Gally grabbed the back of her shirt to keep her from getting too close to edge. "Nothing has even changed yet- the note said things would change and there would be a sign and that's when we're supposed to go."

"Things have changed," Hedy replied. "The grievers are coming into the Garden."

Aussie's blood ran cold as she locked eyes with Hedy, knowing full well that her suspicions were right. Hedy was responsible for the goat. She'd staged it all so she could scare the girls and convince them to try her way. To be their savior. 

"The maze was just a distraction, they put the monsters in there to keep us out," Lanie said calmly as if she'd rehearsed this before hand. To Aussie she just sounded brainwashed. "It's really simple. It's the safe way out."

"Why would they put us all here and torment us if there was a simple way out?!" Aussie yelled. 

Gertie was jogging back with Joan and the rest of the girls. 

"It sounds like you don't want to get out of here," Hedy said with a mask of fake sympathy. "Or for anyone else to either. Would you rather we stick around and keep dying one by one?"

Aussie was enraged and wanted nothing more than to smack Hedy into next week. She took a deep breath and tried to be as calm and reasonable as she could be given the blood rush pounding in her ears. 

"You know I don't want anyone to die. But I'd rather the makers were the ones killing us than us killing each other," Aussie said with a raw edge in her voice, her hands balled into fists. 

"Right, like how the makers drove Thena into the maze," Hedy commented with a nod, all calm, cool and collected. "You know, with her gone, we'll never know if Mary didn't have some help killing herself."

Aussie staggered back as if she'd been struck, backing up against Gally who placed his hands on her shoulders. 

"You're probably fine with having less competition around anyway," Hedy said as her eyes moved up to Gally. 

Suddenly Aussie was lurching out of his grasp, trying to run around the box and get to Hedy. He made a desperate snatch for her, just barely catching her wrist as Gertie and the others all yelled over each other for her to stop. She pulled against him with a strength he didn't think her capable of and her slender hand almost slipped through his grip, but he wrapped his other arm around her, pinning her arms to her sides and her to his chest. She kicked her legs desperately as she screamed at Hedy angrily, using colorful speech he'd never heard her use before but reminded him of Georgia. Hedy stared back at her with a satisfied look on her smug face as he towed her away toward the kitchen. He thought he might calm her down in some privacy, and Joan stepped up to play the voice of reason. 

Once in the kitchen he loosened his grip slightly and she tried to bolt, but he caught her wrist again, and pinned her against the refrigerator. 

"Aussie, enough. Stop!" He shouted as she continued to fight him. 

She immediately stopped when he raised his voice, breathing heavily as she looked up at him with glassy eyes. He could have kicked himself then, remembering how much she disliked him raising his voice at her before, but it was too late now. Her chin wobbled as the tears spilled over. She let her head fall forward and rest against his chest as she cried. He loosened his grip on her, and her arms slipped down, hands gripping the front of his shirt. 

"I'm such an idiot," she sobbed. "This is exactly what Hedy wanted to happen. For me to lose it and look like an incompetent moron."

Gally sighed and placed his hand on her head as she continued to cry.   
"You're not an idiot," he remarked, trying to think of something he could say that would actually help. "She just... took advantage of all your good qualities to make you look like an idiot."

She cried harder and he winced. He gently pushed her back by her shoulders and took her chin in his palm, tilting her little face up to look at him. 

"You fight so hard to do the right thing, and that's one of the best things about you. You have this- you feel things so deeply, it kind of terrifies me sometimes," he admitted as his thumb brushed one of her tears away. "For a while I wondered how you could survive here for so long when you wear your heart on your sleeve, but that's exactly why you're as strong as you are. It's what drives you to go absolutely bat crap crazy feral trying to save people."

Aussie managed a sniffly kind of chuckle at that with a weak smile. 

"And you'll never be an idiot for that," he finished, giving her jaw a reassuring squeeze. 

Her eyes met his with a soft, grateful gaze. She gently placed her hand on his wrist as he still held her face and he felt her leaning toward him. His eyes trailed down to her slightly swollen lips when they heard the scream. They looked out the open bay counter that meals were dished out on, then shared a quick glance between themselves before rushing out to see what was going on. 

The girls, including Joan, were hauling up the rope as fast as they could as screams and cries continued to ring over the girls yelling at eachother. Gertie saw Aussie and Gally coming and reached her hand out with a mortified expression on her face. Aussie ran up and grabbed her hand asking what happened. 

The first light of dawn illuminated the Garden as Lanie started to reappear at the opening of the shaft, the rope holding her under her arms as she cried in agony. Aussie was confused at first, not knowing what could have happened. Did the rope hurt her? Did they let the rope slip and she fell for a distance, maybe smacked against the wall? More and more of her became visible as they pulled her up, her head, shoulders, hips were all visible with no discernible wounds. Then came her knees...

And that's all there was of her.


	33. Try Your Best

Aussies hand flew up and smacked over her mouth in shock. Gertie grabbed her tighter and Gally squeezed her arm. Lanie was still crying as the girls carefully brought her up to the edge of the shaft.

"Gertie!" Joan yelled. "We need you!"

Gertie still clung to Aussie, completely frozen, her eyes wide with terror. 

"Gertie?" Aussie said softly but got no response from the girl. She knew she had to buy her some time to come to her senses.   
"Don't let her touch the ground, we don't want dirt in wounds!" Aussie ordered unable to hide the waver in her voice completely. "Uh, tourniquet! We need tourniquets! If you have a belt take off."

Aussie turned and grabbed Gertie firmly by the shoulders, turning her away from the scene before them to look directly at her.   
"Gertie, look at me. Breathe," Aussie instructed. "Don't overthink it, ok? Don't think about it being Lanie, just... uh think of it... hypothetically! Like in your book, just think of your book and go one step at a time at time, alright?"

Gertie didn't say anything just stared at her still. 

"Gertie!" Aussie repeated, carefully but firmly grabbing her face, Gertie's eyes blinking and coming back into focus. "I know this is hard and we shouldn't have to ask you to do this, but we need you! So please snap out of it."

"Ok... ok..." Gertie breathed as she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Ok! Carry her to the kitchen!"

"Alright, what do you need from the house?" Aussie asked as she followed her to the kitchen. 

"Tools, IV, bandages," Gertie listed off. 

"I got it," Aussie patted her shoulder before racing off toward the house, Lanie's cries and moans fading behind her. 

Once inside the house she heard footfalls on the hardwood floors behind her and figured Gally had come to help. She went to the rear bedroom on the first floor, the one saved for girls who couldn't make up the stairs that also held the bulk of the supplies. 

Luckily Aussie knew where everything was as she often helped Gertie with the supplies. She threw open the doors of the cabinet and grabbed a case of sterilized tools, turning and thrusting it into Gally's hands. She grabbed the rolling stand for the IV and rolled it over to him before grabbing the pillow off the bed and ripping the pillow case off of it. She stuffed it a little more than half full of shrink wrapped rolls of sterile gauze and then put two IV bags on top of that. 

"Uuhhhh," Aussie vocalized as she tried hard to think about anything else they might need, or might be missing. Time was critical and she didn't want to mess up. "Gally, you got on your pants with all the pockets?"

"Yeah," he said, coming over to her. "Load em up."

She stuffed a roll of medical tape, a canister of needles, a sealed bag with the tubes for the IV in it, and two canisters of pain meds.

"What else, what else? Hurry up," she sang to herself as she looked around, her heart hammering in her chest. Her eyes landed on a box of gloves and she grabbed it. "Ok, let's go!"

They raced out of the house. 

"Gally you got the important stuff, just go as fast as you can!" She told him. 

He nodded and obeyed, sprinting ahead of her as she tried to go as fast as she could. She burst into the kitchen as Gally had finished emptying his pockets and added her items to the pile as she panted and fought for breath. Rosa was in the kitchen boiling water and Joan, Rani, and Georgia were there to help. Everyone else had been shooed away so Gertie could work.

Aussie's eyes landed on the purplish and bloody stumps of Lanie's legs and felt like puking. Fortunately her stomach was empty. She averted her eyes and reminded herself that she had handled the goat situation so maybe if she pretended this was a goat she could manage. 

"Aussie I need you to wash your hands with hot water and dish soap," Gertie instructed and Aussie snapped to without question. "Gally, I want you to open the box of gloves, just open it, do not touch the gloves."

Gally did as she said. 

"Aussie, get a clean towel and dry your hands. Now I need you to come over here and put gloves on me, Rani, and Georgia."

The other girls hand been standing with their hands picked up, careful not to touch anything since they were already clean. Aussie began with Gertie who started administering the medication and IV to Lanie while she gloved the other girls up. 

"Here's what's going to happen," Gertie said as she got her tools ready. "Rani, you're going to loosen one tourniquet. When you do, the artery is going spurt blood in time with her pulse. That's how I'm going to find and clamp the artery. Georgia, when I have it clamped you're going to hold the clamp while I stitch the artery. When that's done we go to the next one. Aussie, when we finish the first one you're going to bandage it. If any tools fall you'll sterilize them in the boiling water. Gally, Joan, you two are going to hold her down."

Aussie paled at her task but knew she had to suck it up and do it. Gally and Joan were on opposite sides of the counter that Lanie was laying on and each held her down by the wrist and the shoulder. 

"Wait, wait!" Aussie said before they began, quickly grabbing a towel and gently lifted Lanie's head, putting the towel between her the metal counter top. She then grabbed a wooden spoon and slid it between her pale lips and between her teeth.   
"Ok, go."

"Good call, thanks," Gertie said quickly. 

Aussie turned away from the groans of agony and spurting blood to wash her hands again, not wanting to be responsible for getting her infected when she wrapped the wounds. She was startled by Lanie crying louder. 

"Hold her legs down!" Gertie yelled. 

Gally and Joan had to use more of their body weight to keep her legs down and keep her still, her hands reaching out, clawing at them in agony and desperation. 

"Take the clamp!" Gertie said before grabbing her stitching tools. 

The next twenty minutes were agonizing for everyone, yet passed too quickly for Aussie who now had to bandage the finished leg. Gertie swapped places with Aussie before hopping the counter, careful not to use her hands. Gally and Joan helped stabilize her as she did so, Lanie being mostly unconscious now. She came groaning back to life when the other tourniquet was loosened. Aussie almost fainted at the bright red blood pumping out intermittently but forced herself through it. 

"You want to wrap it a little tight, but not too tight. You want to fit one finger between her and the bandage," Gertie instructed even as she fished around for the other artery. 

Aussie had Rosa help her with the medical tape, using it to temporarily hold strips that crossed vertically and horizontally over the wound before wrapping around her leg. 

"Doing good," Gertie confirmed as she stitched. "If she bleeds through just add more gauze. Don't remove gauze."

Aussie and Rosa finished up around the same time Gertie did and ran around to the opposite side of the counter to do the other leg. Gertie took off her bloodied gloves and put on a fresh pair to administer another shot of medication and inspect the bandaging. 

By the time they'd finished the other leg Aussie felt like it had taken all day, when really it had been only a little more than an hour. Aussie still wanted to throw up but managed to stave it off for the time being. 

"Can you guys get the stretcher and we'll take her to the house?" Gertie requested as she collapsed into a plastic chair, running a hand over her face. 

Joan and Rani were on the outside of the kitchen and took off to do it. Rosa and Georgia began cleaning up what they could while Aussie and Gally went to Gertie's side. 

"You did great Gertie," Aussie said as she squeezed her hand. "I am so proud of you."

Gertie's shoulders began to shake, her hand hiding her face and the tears falling from her eyes. Aussie gave her a tight but awkward hug as she stood there bent over to reach her. Even Gally rubbed her curly head in an attempt to comfort her and, the weird thing was, it worked. 

"Guys, you don't understand," she said as she continued to cry. "I have no anesthesia or bone saw, so I can't make it so the skin can be stitched together and close over the wound. In all likely hood she's going to die of infection if she survives the blood loss - which is a big if."  
She wiped her face and sniffled her snot back in.   
"I probably made it so she lives just long enough to really suffer. And besides, what would we do with her when the time comes to leave? How can we take her?"

"Gertie, we will just cross those bridges when we get to them," Aussie said as she squeezed her again. "All I know is that trying to save someone is always better than not trying. Maybe you don't have all the things you need to be sure she survives, but trust me, one day you'll look back and be able to say that you did everything you could. That's all we can really ask of each other, right? To do our best?" 

"Whatever happens, none of it is your fault" Gally said as he knelt down by her chair. 

Gertie reached out and wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him into her hug with Aussie, crying on both of them. 

Joan and Rani arrived with the stretcher and they all carefully loaded Lanie onto it and carried her to the house, setting her up in that first floor bedroom. They had to replace her pillow case of course, and get a few more to elevate what was left of her legs. 

"I'm gonna keep an eye on her in case she slips into shock," Gertie said. "You guys can go rest."

"Let me send one of the girls to stay with you," Aussie bargained. "And I'll get someone to bring you some food."

Gertie just nodded her consent and shooed them away. 

"Ugh," Aussie groaned. "Why do I feel like I need to sleep for three days? I hardly even did anything."

"It's an adrenaline crash," Gally explained. "You need to eat something for your blood sugar now."

"I am starving... but I can't even imagine eating right now. I still want to barf," she confessed. 

"At least go drink some juice, ok? Do it for me?" He said as he ushered her toward the kitchen in the house. "I'll go ask someone to take care of Gertie."

Aussie did start to feel better after some juice. She even dared to nibble on some bread as she closed her eyes and thought about puppies and rainbows and all things happy and totally not bloody. 

Gally came back into the kitchen to see her like that and managed the first small smile of the day. He opened the fridge to get something for himself. 

"Hey, are you ok?" Aussie suddenly asked him, concern in her voice. 

He turned and gave her a confused look, not sure what she meant by that. 

"Are you hurt?" She clarified, pointing to her own side and then his. "It looks like you're bleeding."

"Oh," he said, reaching around and placing his hand over the spot and wincing. "Lanie scratched me, it's not that bad."

"Can I make sure of that for you?" She barely asked and mostly demanded. 

"Really, it's no big deal."

She just stared at him till he sighed and gave in. He shuffled over to where she sat on the counter and turned around. He felt her hands hesitantly grab his shirt and begin lifting it up carefully, pulling it away from his body first so it wouldn't rub against the scratches. 

"Oh yikes babe! It looks like went a few rounds with a bobcat!" Wait a second, what did she just call him?  
"Um, hold on one second."

She awkwardly slipped off the counter and past him, opening a cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. She grabbed a container of coconut oil and returned. She washed her hands and scooped out as much oil as she thought she'd need. 

"Ok, can you lift your shirt for me?" She asked him, her voice just a tiny bit too high.   
Her eyes slightly widened as she saw his muscles move beneath his skin, his back as cutely freckled as the rest of him where it wasn't scratched and red. Aussie cleared her throat and warmed some oil in her hands before very gently applying it to his skin. She noticed he had goosebumps. 

"Is it cold?" She asked. 

"No it's fine."  
He still jerked ever so slightly at each touch. 

"Are you... ticklish?" She asked as she softly drug her nail across his side. 

He bent like an accordion.   
"Aussie, please no!" He whined and was not comforted by the cackle that came from her. He dared not turn around to confront her lest he expose his surely blushing face. 

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry," she calmed down. "Ooh, one day though..."

He just shook his head. 

"Ok, I got it all," she said as she rubbed the remaining oil into her hands before sighing. 

He lowered his shirt, not wanting to admit that it did feel better. 

"So," Aussie slapped her hands on her thighs. "Wanna help me go beat the crap out of Hedy?"


	34. The Storm

Aussie and Gally stepped out of the house and looked around the Garden, trying to spot Hedy. They didn't see her at first so they split up to ask around and search for her. The first girl Aussie asked could barely look at her which made her suspicious. 

"You-you know you have blood all over you, right?" The girl asked. 

Aussie looked down at herself and felt a little lightheaded. She hadn't realized this whole time. 

"Again?" She groaned.  
When she looked up the girl had vanished. 

Aussie thought about cleaning up first but decided against it. She wanted Hedy to see it, to see just a fraction of the consequences of her actions. Oh, the things she'd say to Hedy when she found her.   
Yes, look at me covered in Lanie's blood all because of You this time, you sex crazed, power hungry, blithering idiot-

Aussie was so caught up in her mental dialogue that she ran right into someone.

"Oh, sorry Serena," Aussie apologized, taking a long blink to help refocus. "Did I get blood on you?- oh that sounds so terrible when said so casually.. I'm sorry."

"Aussie, I have to talk to you," Serena said, pretty much ignoring her awkward rambling entirely. She grabbed her by the arm and began towing her away from any overhearing ears. 

"By any chance can this wait? We're looking for Hedy right now. By the way, have you seen her?" Aussie asked as she was pulled along. 

"It's about Hedy," Serena whispered once she'd stopped. "She was the one who massacred that goat in the woods."

"Uh, yeah?" Aussie said, unfazed. That was old, obvious news by then. 

Serena however seemed surprised she knew already. 

"And... I have something to confess," she played with her fingers nervously. "I might've... helped -just a little."

Aussie's eyes lit up like holy fire and Serena quickly put her hands up defensively, talking very quickly after that.   
"I had no part in killing the goat! She just made me help her put it in the tree when she was done. She said if we made it look like a griever came in here then everyone would agree to her idea. I honestly just wanted to believe we could get out of here without going in the maze... after what happened to Rani I-" her words tapered off as she started to get choked up. 

Aussie softened a bit. She could understand how Serena would feel that way after getting attacked by a griever and watching Rani after she was stung. 

"And I am so sorry for what happened to Lanie," she began to cry with the wobbliest chin Aussie ever saw. 

Aussie couldn't help but put her arms around her and give her a semi begrudging hug. 

"I can kind of understand where you're coming from," she sighed. "Oh, blood! Sorry!" She pulled back, hoping she hadn't gotten any more on Serena. 

"It's ok," She sniffled. 

"Now, if you really want to feel better, tell me where Hedy is," Aussie requested as she held her by the shoulders.

"Um, everything was happening so fast, I kind of lost track of her. I haven't seen her since we pulled Lanie out," she shrugged sadly. 

"Ok," Aussie sighed. "Thanks for telling me. And let me know if you see her alright?"  
Serena nodded and they went their separate ways. 

Aussie kept searching and eventually met up with Gally in his search. He shrugged his arms indicating that he didn't find her either and Aussie mimicked him to say the same. 

"Where the heck could she be?" Aussie complained once they were close enough. "It's not like she could go any-"

She paused as a chilling realization set in. She slowly turned to her right, toward the maze doors. Her hand floated up and pointed at it. 

"You don't think- nah! Hedy wouldn't do that... would she?" Aussie asked, completely unsure. 

"I hate to say it- well, I don't really hate it, but, it... would solve a lot of problems around here," Gally shrugged as he also looked at the maze, hands on his hips. 

"Eh, well, gone is ok, but dead isn't... ideal," Aussie struggled with her sense of morality and her extreme dislike of the mortal in question. 

It would have been nice if Hedy could escape this horrible place provided she stayed far away from Aussie and Gally once they were free. It just seemed unbearably cruel to live so shortly in a small, hellishly infested prison with no memories of your past and die before seeing the outside world. The only people who deserved that were the ones who designed the whole thing and decided dropping amnesia induced teens into it was a good idea. 

"What do you think, should we keep looking?" Aussie asked him. 

She was a bit surprised when he took her hand in his but felt her heart drop when she realized he was just looking at her watch. She tried to control the expression on her face better. 

"I think we get some lunch, take some to Gertie, then we can look some more," he offered, slowly letting her hand slip from his grasp, his finger and her pinky curving slightly to catch on each other for a brief moment before her hand came back to rest by her side. 

She took a deep breath and let it out with a heavy sigh.   
"That's a pretty good idea," she nodded. 

"I have them occasionally," he said and was very glad it actually earned a laugh from her. 

"I should probably clean up too, you know, again," she said gesturing to her bloodied clothes as they began walking together. "Man, I hope one day I get to live in a world where the odds of getting covered in blood are extremely slim to none."

"You will," Gally said so definitely that it almost didn't sound reassuring but more like a threat. 

"I probably shouldn't go in the kitchen like this, I'm gonna go get clean clothes first and meet you there," she said, redirecting herself toward the house. 

"Good idea, you kind of smell."

"What?"

"Like blood I mean, all metallic. Not that you smell bad," Gally tried to back pedal, walking backward toward the kitchen as they went their separate ways. 

"Ok," Aussie laughed with a shake of her head before turning around and going on her way, not seeing the embarrassed redness swallow his freckles. 

Aussie got clothes and got cleaned up before popping in to check on Gertie, kissing the top of her head and letting her know that Gally and her would bring lunch. Gertie seemed tired and subdued but managed a weak smile as she held onto the arm Aussie wrapped around her shoulders from behind. 

Georgia and Rosa had cleaned up the kitchen extremely well which Aussie was extremely grateful for. She wasn't sure if she could have handled the sight of blood one more time. She smiled tiredly at Gally and helped him make three lunches before they set off to see Gertie. 

They had to eat lunch in the room with her because she refused to leave Lanie's side. Conversation was quiet so they wouldn't disturb Lanie, and sparse because no one really knew what to say. Gertie leaned in and whispered extra softly that she didn't have enough pain medication to keep her comfortable for more than a twenty four period, and they didn't have enough antibiotics to stave off infection through the entire healing process either. Aussie tried to be optimistic, saying the makers might send up an unscheduled box with supplies like they had delivered the grief serum. But deep down none of them expected the makers to be that generous. 

The last thing they expected was for Lanie to wake up and start talking. Gertie bolted to her side instantly and Aussie followed. 

"It's ok, we're here," Gertie reassured her as she took her hand. "Are you in pain? Do you need more medicine?"

Lanie shook her head, a tear slipping from the corner of her eye. Aussie gently brushed it away as Lanie looked at her. 

"I'm sorry," she said in a voice thick with emotion and strained with effort. "I should ha- have listened... to you."

Aussie shushed her as she stroked her hair.   
"Hey now, there's nothing to be sorry for," Aussie said soothingly. "I should have fought harder to stop Hedy. But you were so brave trying to find the way out for us. So just do me a favor, ok? You just focus on getting better, alright? Because we are going to get you out of here even if I have to carry you myself."

Gally noticed the look Gertie gave Aussie, and he too was surprised that Aussie had just told such outrageous lies.

"So you go back to sleep now, ok? So you can get better. I love you, Lanie," Aussie whispered to her before kissing her temple. 

That's when Gally realized what she was up to. You never confront the dying with their own mortality, you speak sweetly and be sure that the last words you say to them are good enough to be the last words they ever hear. Lanie might have gone her whole time there without ever hearing those words said to her. Even though she hadn't said them to him, even Gally felt a bit of peace wash over him just hearing it out loud. How he wished he could hear them again. 

But all that softness and kindness disappeared as soon as Aussie turned away. Her jaw was clenched so hard she looked like she might break her teeth, and her eyes seemed to change color from the darkest blue to the coldest gray. She walked like she was on a mission, her strides long and fast. Even Gally had to pick up his own pace to keep up with her. He was honestly too afraid to speak to her in case he got his head bit off, so he just followed, whether he'd end up helping her or saving her was still unclear. But he'd be there to do either. 

She went to the garden and grabbed a hoe before beelining to the box. The doors on it had been closed since that morning and she proceeded to beat on them with the hoe as if they were a piñata, all the while screaming at the makers, calling them names that Georgia would be proud of. 

"Don't you dare let her die!" She screamed with every ounce of strength in her body. "You come save her! What's the point of sending us here if you let us die like this! You cowards! If you're too scared to come get her then give us what we need to save her ourselves! I hate you! IhateyouIhateyouIhateyou!!"

Gally's throat hurt just listening to her as she continued to beat the door. She had drawn pretty much everyone's attention to her by now. He didn't think he had the strength to stop her, this just seemed like something she had to do. She lifted the hoe high above her head, not even saying any real words, she just screamed as loud as she could and brought it down as hard as she could. The wooden handle shattered and the end came off, bouncing up and flying over her shoulder, barely missing her. She staggered back, panting, the stump of the handle slipping from her grip. 

The air was unsettled, girls milling around after having just witnessed that all go down, hands pressed to mouths, whispering, shuffling feet. 

Aussie suddenly fell to her knees.   
"Please," she croaked through her raw throat. "Please!!"

Gally finally couldn't take it anymore and knelt by her side. He didn't have the words, as usual, but he did what he was good at, breaking the rules. He pulled her to his chest and held her tighter than he ever did before, as if he could squeeze her broken pieces together. He hoped she'd understand just how badly he wanted to fix everything. She held him tightly in return, her fingers pressing hard against his skin, as a few heavy sobs shook her body. 

She knew things were far from over though. Now was not yet the time for comfort. So she swallowed her tears painfully and pushed against Gally's strong hold. He looked down at her not understanding. Usually they were like magnets drawn together, but it felt like she was trying to repel him now, and he didn't like it. 

"If Hedy is in the Garden I want her found by nightfall," she said. Her voice was gone but even her breath was full of anger. 

"Ok," he nodded quietly as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I promise."

The whole garden was now a search party but by dusk there was still no sign of her anywhere so the girls fell back to their regular activities if a bit somberly. Aussie stood in front of the Maze doors as they closed, not wanting Hedy to slip through at the last minute. They sealed shut and Aussie just stared at them still, tears stinging her eyes again. Hedy was likely in the maze, dead, dying or would be soon. Lanie probably wasn't long for this world if the makers continued to ignore them. That would be 5 girls dead in 3 years. 

Aussie sank into a crouch and cried harder than she'd ever cried before. It was grief and sadness and anger so strong she couldn't keep it all in her body anymore. It was fairly dark when she composed herself enough to stand back up and head toward the house. There was no longer a chance for vengeance or justice to come from her hands, it was up to the maze now. 

She felt absolutely terrible. Her head and chest ached and her throat burned. She was completely congested with snot and felt like her eyes and lips had been stung by bees. In fact, she was so utterly messed up she wasn't sure if she was seeing things or not, but she could have sworn she saw movement near the house. 

"Aussie," Gally called to her, turning her attention away from whatever she might have seen. "Still nothing. But I'm going to check the woods once more. If she found a place to hide in there she might come out now that it's dark."

"Ok," Aussie sighed, not really caring. 

Gally watched her stagger toward the house, looking absolutely defeated. He hoped he could help her sleep better that night by confirming that Hedy was definitely lost to the maze. His hand worked itself into a fist as he restrained himself from going after her and trying once again to comfort her. He had to do this for her. 

Aussie walked into the dark house, rubbing her tired eyes as she closed the door behind her. She took a step and her shoe squeaked. It was so small and insignificant, yet she never recalled hearing her shoes squeak before. She began walking towards the back room to be with Gertie and her shoes kept squeaking, and at one point her foot slid a little as if the floor were slippery. As she got closer to the room she started to smell it. A smell that threw her back in time 3 years. 

Iron. 

Blood.

Her breathing became rapid as her heart raced, she went faster, squeaking all the way until she burst through the door. It was bathed in darkness but there was a lantern turned down low, almost out. She slid across the floor, knowing that familiar feeling but not yet willing to believe it. She grabbed the lantern and turned it up, tears already falling from her eyes before she saw it. 

Lanie lie there, eyes staring at the ceiling, a bright crimson streak across her throat, soaking the bed under her till it dripped onto the floor. 

Aussie clasped her hand over her mouth as a sob threatened to rip through her throat. Then she remembered Gertie. 

Oh god, please no! She thought as she spun around to find Gertie slumped in her chair. 

She set the lantern down and grabbed the younger girls face, relief washing over her when Gertie angrily awoke. 

"Oh! Oh thank god!" Aussie cried as she squeezed her tight. 

Gertie finally saw the scene over Aussie's shoulder and held her just as hard. 

"Aussie, what happened?" She whimpered. 

"I don't know," Aussie sniffled. "I don't know, but... Lanie's gone."

And the maze doors were closed. They were trapped with a murderer for the night. Aussie couldn't shake the feeling that it was Hedy. They had been looking for her all day, it seemed impossible that it could be her, but that's exactly what Aussie's gut was telling her. 

And then she remembered.   
Gally was in the woods. 

Alone.


	35. Here There Be Monsters

Gally was not having a good time. The woods were dark and creepy and anything could be just outside the beam of light his flashlight produced. 

BYLH? What else would get him out here in the woods at night? He sighed heavily as he realized he had been thinking more about Aussie than Lanie who had both her legs chopped off by a bottomless shaft in the ground, Hedy the dangerous predator, or even poor Gertie, though she did come in second place. 

If Aussie was anything like this back when he was making that note to himself he could understand these left over feelings a lot better. He could see more clearly now that Aussie was made up of love. And not just one kind of love either, oh no. She was the love of broken things and finding beauty. She was the love that's kind and that takes care of others. The love that wants the best even for the worst people. The love that would fist fight the devil himself to get justice. Her kindness, insecurity, and anger- every other emotion was driven by love. 

What the shuck was he doing in the woods? He needed to be with her. Everyone else just took the love she gave out to them, no one thought to give anything back. After everything that happened today she must be empty. 

He turned on his heel and started making his way back as quick as he could, careful not to trip on roots or rocks. He felt a weird feeling in his chest, like when you come off a diet and are about to go eat all the foods you'd avoided and missed and craved for so long. It was release and relief and he felt like he might do something stupid like kiss her, God, he wanted to, but it would not be good timing. He couldn't ruin it by being impulsive, he had to wait till she could think clearly, right? So what would he do? Oh crap, what would he say? Even though touch seemed to go a long way with her she needed more. She was always saying the right thing for other people, she needed to be on the receiving end for once. 

He thought about the things he might say to her as he traversed the tricky grounds of the woods, and was caught completely off guard when the flashlight illuminated something moving. Hundreds of maggots were writhing in the dirt by his feet. Confused and creeped out he scanned around with his flashlight and realized he was standing under the tree the goat had been in. They'd done their best to clean up, but there was so much blood on the ground and not much they could do about it but kick some more dirt over it. He sighed in relief though his heart continued to pound. Sure it's creepy to find maggots, but at least there was a reasonable explanation. 

He turned to go, ready to put that far behind him, and he saw something there was no reasonable explanation for. At first he thought he was coming face to face with a griever, because he could not recognize it as human at first. But, just at the edge of the beam of his flashlight, there stood Hedy. Black veins pulsed beneath translucent, waxy skin as she breathed heavily. 

In his surprise he took a step back, and that's when she charged. Her teeth were bared like an animal and the way she moved was disturbing. There was no strategy, no conserving energy or sense of self preservation. No, she was aiming to take him down like a kamikaze, at the highest risk possible, and that in itself struck him with terror.

She was bearing down on him with frightening speed and he knew he missed his window to flee, he'd have to stand his ground and fight. He dared not waste time swapping the flashlight over so he prepared to throw a punch with his left hand. He took a more balanced stance and timed it as perfectly as he knew how. But she was quicker. She grabbed his arm and twisted it, coming alongside him and sweeping a backward kick to his knee, bringing him to a kneeling position. From there she had enough leverage to dislocate his shoulder. 

His cry of pain rang through the woods before it was cut off by Hedy pushing him onto his back. He dropped the flashlight, plunging himself into darkness as it skittered away and shined in a useless direction. 

Hedy had a knee on his ribs, painfully holding him down as she grabbed his uninjured hand. He tried to fight it but she had already gotten him at a disadvantaged position and slipped a rope around his wrist. He saw a glint in the darkness and thought for sure he was about to be stabbed in the face. But there was a thud as his arm came down over his head, tied to a machete that was now deeply embedded in the base of a tree. How was she this strong?

He pulled and pulled but couldn't get enough strength behind it from the position she had him pinned in. He felt her fingers grab his face before her hot breath fanned over him. 

"If you want to rescue the princess, you have to fight the monsters, don't you?" She strung along a coherent sentence despite the absolute madness in her tone, her lips brushing against his chin till he tried to wrench his face from her grasp. "Guess you're not Prince Charming after all."

She began to laugh as she held him down by the throat with one hand and rained down a few punches with the other. It was brutal and feral and Gally felt like an idiot for having a free hand he couldn't even move to defend himself. He was seeing stars but his vision was adjusting to the darkness, how nice it would be to actually see her beat him to death. 

She raised her fist for another hit but it never came down. There was a thud and her weight vanished from his chest and throat, allowing him to take a deep breath at last. Scuffling noises and angry, unintelligible grunts and yells came from the darkness to his right as he coughed and gasped. He looked over and saw Hedy straddling another figure, raining down fists on them as they used their arms as a shield. Hedy grabbed their wrists and pulled their arms away, exposing her new victim to be Aussie. 

——-

Aussie had no idea that Hedy was stung, she just saw her silhouette in the darkness as she hit Gally. All her rage came boiling back to the surface and she was running before she knew what she was doing. She threw herself hard as could against Hedy, and they toppled over the ground, struggling and tangling together, pain screaming in Aussie's weaker body. 

She knew help had to be behind her, no one missed Gally's scream, she just had to hold out till they arrived. Hedy came out with the upper hand as she pinned Aussie to the ground. Luckily her hits were predictably timed and Aussie would turn in the direction of the next fist so her arms took the brunt of the hit more often than not, but a few still got in. When Hedy tried to pull her arms away, Aussie planted her feet on the ground as close to her own body as she could, allowing her leverage to buck her hips beneath Hedy. She started to topple forward and released her arms so she could catch herself. Aussie took the opportunity to send the heel of her palm into Hedy's nose in an upward motion. 

Hedy screamed as her eyes involuntarily watered from a broken nose, blurring her vision. Aussie took that advantage to punch her in the throat. Hedy gasped and choked and Aussie was able to scramble out from under her. But the effects didn't last long, Hedy was coming for her again on all fours like an animal and Aussie felt panicked. 

She felt the ground around her for a rock or branch she could use to defend herself till help arrived, Gally had been yelling his head off but so far had not been able to help her. She was worried he was hurt very badly. She heard approaching voices as her hand curled over something smooth, it felt like a handle. She grabbed it and held it up, trying to see what it was in the dark, but Hedy was already throwing herself on top of Aussie again. 

There was a sickening sound, wet and grating as Hedy collided with her again, the weight of her body pressing down on whatever Aussie held and jamming it against her own body painfully. Her hands were trapped between them as Hedy swiped at her face and shoulders with less and less ferocity. 

Aussie saw light fill the woods as the smell of blood came again, this time more sour and heavy. It was hot and wet on her hands and falling on her neck and chest from Hedy's mouth as she raggedly breathed. 

"I... I didn't want her... to suffer," Hedy rasped through a strained voice as a clarity replaced the madness in her eyes, Aussie finally seeing the black veins crawling under her skin. "Lanie..."

A tear fell from her eyes and onto Aussie's cheek before the life faded from them. Hands pulled her body away and grabbed at Aussie, helping her sit up. Hedy slumped there on the ground, a machete through her chest and a remorseful look frozen on her face. 

A strong arm wrapped around her shoulders from behind, pulling her back tightly against a broad chest. 

"Aussie, are you hurt?" Gally's nervous and strained voice came from right beside her ear. 

"No, not too bad," she shook her head before she felt Gally press his mouth to her hair above her ear, her eyes unable to leave Hedy's face. 

There was no escaping it, this was a life she was directly responsible for taking. 

"I'm covered in blood again... aren't I?" She asked Gally, deep in shock. 

She felt him nod as he stroked her arm and gently rocked her. 

"Oh my god, Gally!" Gertie's voice cut through the night as she rushed over to them, her eyes red and worried. "Your shoulder!"

Aussie turned and saw his other arm limp at his side, his shoulder an unnatural square shape. 

"Oh!" Aussie yelled in surprise, her hand covering her mouth. 

"It's nothing," he said softly shaking his head, trying to pull her close again. There was a cut on his brow and his bottom lip was split, bruises soon to follow the red patches on his face. But worst of all were the tears. They fell in steady streams down his face, cutting through the dirt and blood. 

She couldn't handle them the first time and she couldn't handle them now.   
"It's not nothing, Gally," Aussie croaked with her broken voice, bordering on tears herself now. 

"I can fix it, I just need to get him to the house," Gertie assured them both. "Aussie, are you ok? Is any of this blood yours?"

Aussie looked down at herself, having no clue if she was bleeding or not.   
"I... don't think so."

Gertie's hands roamed her quickly as she checked for wounds.   
"Ok, you're not that serious," Gertie sighed in relief. "Joan! Come help me get Gally to the house! Georgia, Rani, can you help Aussie get cleaned up in the outdoor shower, we'll use the indoor one for Gally. Bring to her to me when she's done so I can examine her too."

The other girls pried Gally and Aussie apart and got them to their feet, helping them along through the woods. Georgia helped Aussie to the showers while Rani went ahead to the house to grab her clothes. Her towel from the Goat Incident still hung over the stall. 

"Alright Aussie," Georgia groaned slightly as she lowered Aussie onto the crate. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"I didn't mean to kill her," Aussie spoke quietly, her eyes not focused on anything. "I wasn't trying to."

"I know," Georgia assured her as she pulled off her shoes. 

"I still did though."

Georgia sighed and looked up at her.   
"Yeah and she would have killed you, and she would have killed Gally just like she did kill Lanie. And that stunt with the goat, she was a psychopath, Aussie. Do you understand that?" She asked her as she placed a hand on her knee to get her attention. "Aussie, you are not a killer. You didn't mean it so it was an accident. You were defending yourself and protecting Gally- geez you protected all of us! Who knows who she would have hurt or killed next."

"But I still did it," Aussie said, holding up her hands covered in blood. 

"Yeah, and I'm sorry it came down to that, but you're gonna live with it, alright?" Georgia said more firmly, running out of patience for such a soft bedside manner. 

She took the hose and began washing the blood off Aussie's hands. 

"You see that?" She asked her. "It starts to fade and underneath you're still the same person you always were. So I need you to tighten up! The only way to make sure it wasn't all a waste is to live to get out of here and bring the real killers to justice."

Aussie stared at her with her wide innocent eyes, not saying another word about it. She began cleaning herself up which Georgia took as a good sign. She left her to it and stood by the stall just in case. Rani came back with clothes when another resounding yell came from Gally. 

Aussie dried off as quickly as possible and got dressed, taking off for the house as she pulled her shirt on, Georgia and Rani on her heels. 

"Be careful Aussie!" Rani yelled as she took her by the arm to help her along. "You don't know if you have a concussion or not."

They got in the house to find Gally on the couch with Gertie tending to him, his arm was in a sling now, resting on a pillow on his lap. He was cleaned up and in new clothes as well, Gertie examining the damage done to his face. 

"Gally are you ok?" Aussie asked as she careened across the living room to get to him. 

"He's kind of out of it," Gertie had to inform her. "I gave him the last of the pain meds for when I popped his shoulder back into place."

Aussie sat beside him and held his good hand. Gertie checked her out as well, finding a surprisingly very mild concussion, and just bruises and scratches. Injuries that only time and antibiotic ointment would fix. 

"You gonna be ok, Gertie?" Aussie asked her. "I'm so sorry about Lanie."

Gertie shrugged as she fought back tears. 

"Is it bad that I'm kind of relieved I don't have to watch her die slowly and be in pain?" She asked. 

"No," Aussie said as she grabbed her and hugged her tight. "Life demanded a lot from you today. More than it ever should have."

"And you too," Gertie reminded her. 

"And me."


	36. All’s Well

The drugs eventually wore off and Gally started to come around. He was having a terrible nightmare that he was standing in the woods, paralyzed as Hedy strew Aussie through the trees. He strained and fought to move so hard that he really did move in his sleep. 

Aussie had fallen asleep on his shoulder as Gertie treated them both and had drifted down to lay on the pillow that propped up his injured arm, curled up between him and Gertie on the couch. Gally's hand rested on Aussie's head, fingers tangled in the warmth of her hair. 

Gertie was afraid of falling asleep now, not wanting anything to happen to Aussie and Gally. Even with Hedy gone now she still couldn't quite rest easy. But it was a comfort to have Aussie's feet nestled under her legs as if Gertie were her mother hen. 

Gertie was stirred by the soft noises Gally made while Aussie didn't awaken until she was almost dumped off his lap and off the couch. Both his good and bad arms were trying to reach out as he jerked forward as if to stand up, repeatedly mumbling the word 'No'. He grew more aggitated. 

"Gally, it's ok," Aussie said groggily as she tried to press him back against the couch by his good shoulder. 

"Don't let him get up, he could really hurt himself," Gertie told her as she got up to assist her. 

"I'm trying but it's like trying to hold down a moose," Aussie grunted with effort. 

He was too strong even when he was asleep. Her whole body ached and screamed as Aussie tried to use more of her weight to hold him down, bracing her knees on either side of his lap and gripping the couch behind him like she was a human seatbelt. Still he struggled, his mutterings were sad and pitiful and tugged on her heart. She could only imagine the kind of nightmare he might be having. 

"Gally, you're ok, you're ok," she said soothingly. 

"Oh man, I really hate to do this, but I gotta wake him up," Gertie said before pressing a finger to his injured shoulder. 

His eyes flew open as he gasped, stars floating in his vision. His breath was ragged as he tried to get his bearings. 

"Gally, you're ok, you're safe," Aussie's voice came, so close to him he almost believed he was still dreaming. "Calm down, we got you."

He did feel a weight against him and investigated with his good hand, finding a body directly in front of him, bony ribs beneath his fingers. 

"It's me, Gally," Aussie assured him, a hand gently stroking his cheek. 

He heaved a shaky sigh of relief as he pulled her against him, burying his face in the crook of her neck as he almost shed tears in relief. 

"It's ok," Aussie repeated softly as she cradled his head against her and rubbed his back, her cheek resting against his hair. 

Gertie also pet his hair sympathetically till he caught his breath and his grip on Aussie relaxed. 

"I'm sorry, it was a nightmare," he wiped his face as Aussie moved next to him on the couch. 

"Well, we went through a reality-mare so that's understandable," Aussie said. 

"How do you feel, are you in any pain?" Gertie asked him, hovering over his shoulder. 

"A little sore," his tired voice was husky and he felt exhausted. "It's not horrible."

"Since you're awake I want to take the sling off to check for swelling, is that ok?" Gertie asked. 

Gally shrugged and regretted it.   
"Yeah I guess."

Gertie was very careful as she moved his arm out of the sling, gently feeling his wrist and forearm for any injuries, asking him if anything was tender. 

"Are you thirsty? You want some water or juice?" Aussie asked as she ran her little hand up and down his good shoulder. 

"Water, please," he nodded, realizing how parched his throat really was. 

His eyes had adjusted to the dim light in the house and he watched as Aussie got up with some effort and limped toward the kitchen. He wished he hadn't asked her to get up. She brought him water and settled onto the couch next to him again as Gertie put his sling back on. 

"It seems good," Gertie nodded quite pleased with course it was taking. "As far as dislocated shoulders go, that is."

Gally almost chuckled. 

"Hey, how's Lanie?" He asked after he guzzled the water down, not knowing if he could stay awake to hear the answer. 

Aussie and Gertie shared a look that made his gut plummet a little. He was obviously out of the loop. 

"Um," Aussie bit onto her bottom lip. "The thing is... she's gone. Hedy- ah, Hedy killed her. She didn't want her to suffer so-"

"What?" Gertie blurted almost angrily as Gally reeled from this information. "How do you know that? She was stung, she was even crazier than normal-"

Aussie reached out and took her hand. 

"Hedy told me," she whispered. 

"What? What are you talking about?" Gertie asked. 

"She had this... like, weird moment where she got normal again and told me before she died."

Gertie scoffed.   
"A last ditch effort to gain some sympathy," she mumbled. 

Aussie didn't say anything, just squeezed her hand. She knew that Gertie and Gally were both entitled to feel any way they wanted about Hedy based on their experiences with her. Aussie herself chose to believe Hedy. She had made mistakes for sure, but who hasn't? She was still a victim of this place and the makers, and she had paid for her sins. Putting Lanie out of her suffering was not a redeeming act, not in the slightest, but it allowed Hedy to die with some humanity, in Aussie's eyes at least. 

"Anyway, it's all over now," She sighed. "You should go back to sleep, Gally, you look so tired. Poor thing."

"I think you should stay on the couch for tonight so you won't roll over onto your bad shoulder," Gertie advised. 

The two girls fussed over him with pillows and a blanket, pulling the table closer so he could put his feet up on it. 

"I'm really glad you're ok," Gertie told him as she patted his head before turning and going upstairs to bed. 

Aussie was about to walk away and he quickly grabbed her hand. 

"Can you stay?" He asked her as she turned and looked at him with a tired hint of surprise. 

"Of course," she answered as if that wasn't exactly what she had been planning to do. "I'll be right back."

She gave his hand a squeeze before going to the bathroom, and getting another glass of water from the kitchen on her way back. She was surprised to find him still awake when his body seemed to beg for sleep.

"Are you sure you're ok?" She asked as she sat beside him again.

"She killed Lanie?" His voice was quiet and airy. 

"Yeah, she did."

"And you came after her," he said in disbelief. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I couldn't let something bad happen again," she admitted after a pause. 

"Yeah, and if she hurt you- killed you, that would be a bad thing too, you know?" He was very nearly chastising her. "Why didn't you get help first?"

"Because if I have to ask other people to save the people I care about then what good am I?" The words were out before Aussie realized that's how she felt. 

Gally sat there quietly for a moment, looking down at his lap.   
"I get that," he finally sighed. "I was stuck there with a free arm I couldn't even use, watching her hit you over and over, praying for someone else to get there to save you. I haven't felt worse than I did then."

A silence fell between them. Aussie chewed her thumb nail for a bit before she couldn't take it anymore. 

"Look, you're ok now, I'm ok now, everyone's safe for now, but you look as tired as I feel so can we talk about this later and go back to sleep?" She begged. 

"Yeah," he agreed with a tired sigh, leaning his head back. With his last ounce of strength he noticed what she was doing.   
"Whoa, wait, wait," he said in quick succession as she went to lay her head on the opposite end of the couch. 

"What?" There was an edge of irritation in her voice as she lifted her head to look at him. 

"Come back where you were," he beckoned her, reaching his hand out to help her. 

She sighed through a small smile as she repositioned herself, her head on the pillow on his lap again, and got comfortable. 

"Thank you," he whispered as he gently combed his fingers in her hair, grazing her scalp in a way that made sleepiness hit her like a ton of bricks. 

She just hummed in response as her eyes fluttered closed and her muscles relaxed. Gally was half asleep himself as he thought about how the last words Aussie said to Lanie really were the last words she probably heard. How nice it would be to hear those words before one left this world. 

"I love you," the words fell sloppily from his tired lips and landed on ears that could not hear them. 

———-  
Baby- Relient K


	37. Back at the Start

The house was empty when Gally woke up. He didn't even know what time it was since there were no clocks in the house, not even on the appliances, so he felt extra disoriented. He slipped his shoes on, stuffing the laces he couldn't tie down inside of them, and went to look for Gertie and Aussie. 

He saw a few girls sitting near the kitchen. They were drinking water and all looked a bit dirty. He almost groaned aloud realizing he'd have to talk to them. 

"Hey," he nodded to them as he walked up. "Where is everyone?"

"The woods," one girl pointed. 

"Digging the graves," another added. 

"Thanks," he nodded to the glum group of girls before he started making his way in that direction.   
"Oh, do any of you have the time?" He turned back to ask. 

They all looked at their matching digital watches.   
"Two," they chorused. 

"T- two?" His eyebrows shot up in surprise. He certainly got his beauty sleep. 

Gally was not happy about going into the woods again. Sure, Hedy was gone and therefore 50% of his problems were gone too, but he just didn't like remembering. Also the maggots. The maggots bothered him. 

He found most of the girls in the far back corner of the woods, where the two maze walls met. There were two groups digging, one on either side of a preexisting grave, the wooden marker faded and covered with ivy. Still he made out the name Mary on it. 

"Didn't seem right to put them next to each other," Joan said as she walked over to him. "How are you?"

Gally considered the graves in front of him for a moment.   
"Alive."

"Count that as a blessing," Joan nodded. 

She watched his eyes move over the group, undoubtedly looking for Aussie she figured. 

"She's in the shed working on the grave markers," she informed him. 

"Who?" 

"Don't play dumb."

Gally laughed a light chuckle.  
"What if I was looking for Gertie?"

"Were you?"

"... No, but I could have been."

He dropped by the kitchen before beginning his trek to the complete opposite corner of the Garden, feeling like he needed sustenance for a journey that far in his current state. He tucked the jar of peanut butter into his sling and carried the bag of bread in his bad hand, a butter knife tucked into his pocket. He ate an apple with his good hand on the way. 

He hadn't been inside that building before but he remembered the crazy door on it. It was open now, propped so with a rock, and as he got closer he heard something he never heard before in the garden or in his memories. Singing. 

Aussie's voice filtered sweetly through the air to a melancholy tune. He walked slowly and quietly, afraid to interrupt her and make her stop. He leaned on the wall by the door and listened. 

"You and me have seen everything to see, from Bangkok to Calgary, and the souls of your shoes are all worn out, the time for sleep is now. It's nothing to cry about, 'cause we'll hold each other soon, in the blackest of rooms.   
If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied, illuminate the 'NO's on their vacancy signs, if there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, I'll follow you into the dark.  
I'll follow you... into the dark."

Gally felt the prick of tears sting his eyes and he tried to shake off the feeling of sadness from her song. He wanted to listen to her sing, just any words but those right now. He tried to step inside as if he'd only just arrived and was oblivious to what she had been doing. 

"Hey," he greeted her, seeing her jump slightly. She was sitting on the floor with various tools beside her and a small mound of wood shavings. She wore a tank top and he could see the bruises blooming on her slender arms. 

"Hey! How are you?" She smiled up at him, also pretending she hadn't just been singing something sad.

"Honestly? I'm hungry," he said as he pulled the jar of peanut butter out of his sling.

Aussie giggled.   
"Oh look at you," she said as she stood up, the pain in her muscles only slightly distorting her smile as she did so. She gave a sigh and looked him dead in the eye.   
"Looks like you need a hand."

He gave her a look, lightly cocking his head to the side.   
"Oh haha, how long have you been waiting to do that one?"

"So long!" She threw her head back and groaned as if it had been killing her. She was smiling when she looked at him again. 

The corner of his own mouth turned up at her and he started walking toward the table in the middle of the room. 

"Oh, hang on!" She called after him as her hand slipped in the crook of his elbow. "Be careful, that's the map table."

She went ahead of him and gently pulled what he'd thought was a table cloth away to reveal a miniature maze underneath, crafted out of twigs and scraps of things. There was a container with little bits of assembled wall pieces inside as well. Gally handed over the bread and butter knife and Aussie began making sandwiches on the least crowded part of the table. 

"Why the model?" Gally asked as he traced the paths with his eyes. 

"Why not?" Aussie sighed with peanut butter breath. "Anything to help us see it from a different perspective, I guess. The runners drew the maps everyday too. That's what those crates there are full of."

Four black chests lined the far wall of the room. 

Gally looked from them to his injured arm thoughtfully. He had about a week to heal enough to carry Aussie out of here if he had to, so, for now, there wouldn't be much training. But maybe he could and should learn more about this maze.

"Whatchya thinking about?" Aussie asked. 

He'd been staring so intently at the maze in silence for a while that she knew something was up. 

"I should learn more about the maze," he answered her, eyes still glued to it. 

"Hmm. Unfortunately I'm not an expert on it despite all the time I spent staring at it and helping assemble it. You'll want to talk to someone who's been in it. Joan could tell you," Aussie said before licking peanut butter off her thumb. "Maybe tomorrow though. We have work to get done today."

Aussie got up from her seat at the table and went to get back to her task, but Gally caught her wrist gently as she walked by, careful not to hurt her bruises. 

"Anything I can do to help?" He asked, looking up at her. 

She looked down at him with a slight smile.   
"You, Mr Moose, can go back to the house and rest so that arm heals up," she said as she gently poked his nose. 

"Moose?" He repeated in confusion. "Since when am I a moose?" 

"For a while probably, but I just started calling you that last night."

"Why?"

"Why? Do you remember what a moose is?"

"Yeah, it's a big, dumb looking thing with antlers," he recounted, not liking being compared to one. Even being compared to the dog seemed better than this. 

"They're not dumb looking, they're cute!" Aussie cried even more offended than he'd just been. "And they're really big and really strong, and even bears are scared of them."

Cute?

"So... you like moose then?" He asked as she settled back down on the floor. 

"Would I call you one if I didn't?" She asked with out looking at him, just grabbing her tools and carving into the wood again. 

Gally tried not to smile. He went over and lowered himself to the ground beside her which she immediately protested. 

"Gally, no! You're not helping me, you're injured!"

"So are you," he pointed out, ghosting his knuckles over her arm to remind her of the bruises. 

"It's not the same," she said as if he were an idiot. "You need to go rest and get better."

"Why can't I rest here?"

"Because it's not as comfortable as the house, you need to be comfortable and have, like, five pillows and a glass of juice."

"That does sound pretty good," he agreed. "We can go do that when you're done here."

"Oh my god," she sighed as she covered her face with her hands. "When did you get so stubborn?"

"I learned it from you."

"From me?!" Her voice rose several octaves in distress. 

He raised his eyebrows at her.   
"You didn't know?"

"How am I stubborn?" She challenged him. 

"You spent, what, 3 days turning this place upside down to make sure no one tried to kill me."

"That's not being stubborn, that's... that's called being strong willed, it's a positive trait," she shot back with a triumphant smirk. "Don't you find being alive a good thing?"

"Very good," he said softly as he admired the way the sun illuminated her through the open door, dancing on her shoulders and casting shadows on her collar bones. 

She caught his eye and her playfulness and teasing melted away. The way he was looking at her made the heat rush to her cheeks, she had to look away or she might combust. 

"A-anyway, I couldn't ask you to help me with this," she explained. "I've finished Lanie's, and even made one for Thena... I just have Hedy's to do and I couldn't have you help me with it after everything she put you through."

Gally watched her chip away the second leg of the H in Hedy's name. She made a fair point, but it didn't matter who's it was, he just wanted to be with Aussie. 

"Do you... know any other songs?" He asked. 

She froze for a second, realizing he'd heard her sing.   
"I know two others," she answered. 

"Can I hear one of them?" He asked her hopefully. 

"Oh I'm not that good a singer."

"But you're the only one who sings."

Her face felt warmer than before as she cleared her throat. 

"Sooner or later the lights up above  
Will come down in circles and guide me to love.   
I don't know what's right for me, I cannot see straight  
I've been here too long and I don't want to wait for it.   
Fly like a cannonball straight to my soul  
Tear me to pieces and make me feel whole.   
I'm willing to fight for it, to feel something new,  
To know what it's like to be sharing a space with you."

Gally liked this one a lot better. It still had a bittersweet melody, but the fact it was a love song made him happy. 

"Fall on me, with open arms  
Fall on me, from where you are  
Fall on me, with all your light  
With all your light  
With all your light. 

Sooner or later it all comes apart  
The walls are all shattered I'm back at the start  
But I'm willing to follow this, wherever it goes  
The heart has its reasons that nobody knows  
And I want to believe in a world we can't see  
Millions of particles passing through me  
And I know there's a meaning, I feel it I swear  
I can't see the future but I know that it's there.

Fall on me, with open arms  
Fall on me, from where you are  
Fall on me, with all your light  
With all your light  
With all your light.

I close my eyes, and I'm seeing you everywhere.   
I step outside, it's like I'm breathing you in the air.   
I can feel you're there."

He loved those words. He hoped Aussie remembered this song because it was important, a clue like the note had been, because if they could shatter these maze walls, would they go back to the start? Would they get their memories back? Would he get all the answers to why he felt the way he did? 

And maybe she remembered this song because of him. Could she have missed sharing a space with him for the years she was in here? Could she possibly feel-

"There you are! I guess I should have known," Gertie's voice came from the shadow now falling over them, interrupting his thoughts. "You need to be inside resting! And it's time for more medication."

"I tried to tell him," Aussie sighed as Gertie stomped over and tried to pull him up off the floor. 

Gally was crushed. He'd finally had a surge of bravery to try and say something to Aussie and he was interrupted again. 

"Gally, just go," Aussie shook her head with a smile as she watched Gertie strain herself. "I'm almost done, I'll be there soon."

Feeling deflated, Gally got up and let Gertie tow him away, stealing glances over his shoulder until he couldn't see Aussie anymore, tuning out all of Gertie's nagging and chastising. 

"Gally!" She snapped, finally earning his attention. 

"What?" He replied equally annoyed. 

"Is she doing ok?" She repeated her question, stressing each word individually. 

"Seems like it, why?" 

She stopped and spun around to glare at him.   
"Because last night she found Lanie much the same way she found Mary and that might be a bit much for her to take."

I'm back at the start.


	38. Sling and a Miss

Gally and Gertie went back and forth about how Aussie might be doing until the drugs did their thing and he was out. All the girls in the garden rested after the hard work they did, planning to hold the funerals in the evening.

Gally was gently shaken awake this time, no fingers pressing on his injured shoulder to wake him up. Groggily he came to and saw a mess of stuff on the table. Bobbins of thread, scissors, scraps of fabric and a jar of buttons. He saw Gertie to his right waking up Aussie as well. 

She was wearing different clothes than when he'd last seen her and her hair was down. It looked like she'd fallen asleep mid project as she had a shirt in her hands still. 

"Come on guys, time for the funerals," Gertie said softly. 

Aussie and Gally followed her out of the house groggily, Aussie rubbing her eyes to try and wake herself up more. Gally was not fully present in reality, the drugs still in his system making him feel a bit floaty. Part of him thought he should say something to Aussie but as usual he didn't know what. He glanced behind him and as far as he could tell they were the tail end of this funeral procession. Gertie was walking ahead of them so he figured it was safe enough. 

He reached over and messily entwined his fingers with Aussie's teeny tiny ones. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her glance up at him. She didn't say anything and she didn't pull her hand away, just gave his a little squeeze.

They made it across the clearing and through the woods to the graves. Three fresh markers stood with the two older ones. 

"What are you doing?" Gertie whispered, eying their clasped hands. 

"I was helping him balance, what with the uneven ground and all," Aussie lied quickly and easily in case anyone else saw or over heard them. 

Gally felt a bit sad as she slipped her hand from his after fibbing about it, but he understood why she lied about it. Still, he'd love to know what the truth was. 

She remained close to him as several girls spoke about Lanie, how she was always cheerful, helpful, and never complained. Joan and a few others from the guard said a few words about Athena as well, seeming awkward about it. They focused on the past more than the present to keep it fairly positive. Gally was surprised that Aussie kept quiet during it all, surely she had something to say about them. It worried him. 

A hush fell over the girls, one that threatened to be an awkward silence as they milled about. No one was speaking up for Hedy. Gally felt Aussie slide her hand down his arm before she stepped away from his side and walked through the girls to stand by Hedy's marker. She placed her hand on it and but her lip, taking a moment to find the words. 

"We are all victims of this place and the makers," she began. "But sometimes we're also the victims of consequence. We make decisions... we think we know what to do... or sometimes we don't put as much thought into something as we should."

She gently tapped her palm against the marker. Gally could tell she was talking about herself as much as Hedy. 

"Sure, Hedy made a few bad decisions," her eyes landed on Gally as she said this. "There's no sugar coating that. And she had to face the consequences, but she also had to deal with this place on top of it- being stung and all. What I'm trying to say is, she was human and made mistakes, pretty bad ones, but she was our friend too, and she had her good moments at times. It's ok to remember the good parts of her and miss those. None of these girls deserved to die the way they did. Not a single one of them. And none of you deserve to be in this place either."

Aussie had run out of words, she didn't know what else there was to say. She couldn't promise anyone that they wouldn't face a similar fate, she couldn't promise they'd be able to make the Makers pay for what they'd done, or that there was any real meaning behind the loss of life that had taken place. But then she felt something bubbling up from deep inside, something she'd never said before but always felt. 

"The worst part is ... they'll never be able to leave now," she said as tears choked her up. 

Their lives that they remembered were only of this place and their bones would stay here. Nothing felt sadder than that to Aussie, and she definitely didn't want that to be her or anyone else's fate. 

Everyone had maintained a stiff upper lip right up until she said that, then the tears began to flow. Girls were sniffling and hugging all around Gally now and he was to far from Aussie to hold her. But he saw Joan grab her up in a bear hug, Aussie's arms going rigid for a moment in surprise before hugging back. 

Pain jolted through him as Gertie grabbed ahold of him, crying on his shirt. 

"Ow. Ow, ow, ow," he murmured as he tried to reposition her so she wouldn't be hurting his arm, breathing a sigh of relief when he did so and squeezing her with his good arm. 

He didn't know why she was crying, not because there wasn't a reason to, but because there were so many reasons to. Was she crying over Lanie and how she died in front of her, out of fear of dying herself, or something else? He didn't know, so he kept his mouth shut and let her cry. 

Girls began to leave as it started getting dark, filtering by and giving him the occasional odd look. He just shrugged with his good shoulder as he tried to comfort Gertie. When everyone else besides Aussie and them were gone he finally attempted to say something to her, having to grab and pull her by the curls, tilting her face up at him. 

"Gertie, I'm going to make sure you get out of here, ok?" He told her with all the softness and confidence he could muster just then. 

"You smell bad," she sniffled before letting him go, standing back with crossed arms. 

Honestly, why did he even try with her.

Aussie sat on the dirt in front of the graves with her back to them. Gally caught Gertie's eye and nodded for them to go over there. They took a seat, one on either side of her, Gertie grabbing her hand.

"I hope you don't mind me saying a few words about Hedy," she said to him after a few minutes. "Considering everything she put you through."

He shook his head.   
"No worries," he told her. "It was nice of you to do that."

"Aussie?" Gertie spoke up. "Not to be a jerk or anything, but can we go? I'm quite sick of these woods and don't want to see them at night again."

"Mmm I have to agree with her," Gally grimaced. 

"Yeah, I think I agree too," Aussie said with the smallest of laughs. 

The walk back to the house was silent but not awkward. It felt like moving forward and putting what happened behind them, at least, that's what Gally felt. 

Gertie was rooting around in the freezer while Aussie sat on the couch and continued her sewing project. 

"What are you making?" Gally asked as he settled in with his pillows again. 

"Oh, I'm converting this shirt into a button up for you," she answered as she held it up. "I thought it would be easier for your shoulder."

He was impressed but, by now, not surprised. Aussie could be counted on to think ahead about others. 

"Aha! I found it!" Gertie exclaimed from the kitchen before Gally could thank Aussie for her efforts. "I knew you squirreled away some of her soup. What do you say? Wanna warm it up?"

Gally looked at Gertie and then back at Aussie with a questioning brow. 

"Lanie's special recipe," Aussie explained with a sad smile. "Yeah, Gertie. Let's warm it up."

Gertie banged around the pots in the cabinet and began thawing out the soup as Aussie returned to her sewing. It was just the right amount of background activity to feel comfortable and distract Gally from the craziness of the past few days. His arm hurt and everything, but having Gertie and Aussie fussing over him regularly kind of made up for it. Plus it made him believe a good life could exist outside this place. 

"Out of curiosity, when will that shirt be done?" He asked Aussie. 

"Gosh, I dunno," she admitted, one corner of her mouth sinking in as she furrowed her brows in thought. "I'm trying to make it good so it won't fall apart, that's hard to do quickly by hand."

He hummed thoughtfully as well.   
"So, I'll probably have to shower before it's done?"

"Um, I'd guess yes," Aussie nodded as she examined the work left to do on it. 

"Do I smell right now?" He asked, remembering how Gertie told him so earlier. 

Aussie's eyebrows went up slightly at that.   
"Do you... want the truth?"

Gally almost snorted.   
"I think I just got it," he smirked ruefully. "Gertie! How do I shower?"

"If you don't know that by now there's not much hope for you!" She called back, making him roll his eyes. 

"You know what I mean!"

"Alright, alright. I'll rig something up you can wear in the shower," Gertie said as she left the kitchen and rummaged in the closet. 

"Careful not to lose your balance and slip in there," Aussie reminded him as she focused on stitching a buttonhole. 

"That would be embarrassing," he agreed as Gertie approached him. "What is that?"

She smiled triumphantly as she held up two sports bras with zip up fronts attached to each other to make a larger loop. 

"It's a make shift sling," Gertie informed him as Aussie slowly started wheezing.

Gally pressed his lips together and embraced his fate. He took it from her and stood up, making his way toward the bathroom. 

"Won't he need help?" Aussie asked Gertie. 

"Let's see if he does."

A few moments passed before the bathroom door opened again, a heavy sigh reaching their ears. 

"I... need help," he admitted begrudgingly. 

It seemed like the next casualty of the Garden was the dignity of its only male resident. 

Gertie scrunched her nose in a wicked little smile at Aussie as she returned to stirring the soup, jerking her thumb for Aussie to go deal with it. 

"Coming!" Aussie called as she got up. 

She found Gally leaning on the counter, red with embarrassment, the bra sling and his fresh clothes laying there. 

"Can't get the shirt off?" She asked him as she leaned on the door frame. 

He nodded simply. 

"Ok, sit down, tall one," she instructed him as she put the lid of the toilet down. "Let's get your good arm free first."

He sat down and she figured the easiest way to pull his shirt up was from behind, otherwise the sling was in the way. 

"Just... just let me know if you get uncomfortable at any point," she said after biting her bottom lip several times. 

"What do you mean?"

"I don't even know," she sighed. "I just keep feeling like I have to be careful after.. you know, with H-Hedy. I just want to make sure you're comfortable and feel safe, I guess. But I think I keep making it weird."

She laughed a little nervously as she played with her fingers. 

Gally stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out what to say to that. Nothing eloquent came to mind so he went with his gut. 

"Aussie, thanks, but I trust you. I'm really not worried about any of ... that coming from you. Don't worry about it, ok?" He tried to assure her as she stood there practically gnawing on her lip. 

Honestly, the thought that she'd be nervous about touching him was almost painful, that's not how he wanted it to be. He wanted her to feel like she could initiate contact with him without worrying. 

She took a deep breath and nodded.  
"Ok," she sighed. "But do let me know if something actually hurts, ok?"

"Ok," he agreed with a small smile trying to make this whole thing a little less serious. 

She came over and reached over his shoulders, gently pulling his shirt till it was mostly all up under his arms. She bunched the hem up with the sleeve and held it as he pulled his good arm through. 

"Ok, hold your arm," she instructed before taking the sling off his neck. She gently lifted the shirt over his head after that, then it was easy to slide it down his bad arm. 

It was almost unbearably ticklish to feel her fingers ghost across his skin occasionally, and when her hair would brush against him as she moved around him. Even the tops of his shoulders were blushing. 

Aussie was trying her best not to stare and didn't realize she was biting her lip so intensely she'd almost swallowed her chin. She grabbed the make shift sling and helped him maneuver his arm into it before looping it over his neck. 

"That feel ok?" She asked him as she felt her pulse hammer in her neck. 

"Yeah, it'll do for a bit," he nodded as he looked at it then up at her she sat on the edge of the tub next to him. "What happened to your lip?"

She raised her brows and glanced in the mirror, her bottom lip slightly swollen with a serious indent from her extra pointy tooth on the right side. 

"Uh, nothing," she shook her head. "I mean, it's been like that from- you know."  
She mimed getting hit in the face then awkwardly slapped her hands down on her lap to stand up.   
"Well, I guess I'll leave you to the rest of it, just ah, call for me when you need help with getting your shirt on," she said awkwardly, bumping into the door frame as she backed out of the room and closed the door behind her. 

She went into the kitchen and opened the fridge for no reason, looking for nothing in particular. Gertie slid into her peripheral vision with a smirk and a raised brow. 

"You think he's hot."

"Gertie!" Aussie almost choked as she shoved her away. "Shut up!"

Gertie cackled.   
"You do!" She sang as she stirred the soup sassily, shoving the still frozen chunks down. 

"He is hurt, that was all done out of basic necessity, it was not the proper time to ogle the poor guy," Aussie hissed at her, swatting at her with a potholder. 

"Ogle?" Gertie giggled. 

"Whatever," Aussie sighed irritably as Gertie continued to grin. 

She couldn't leave her alone for long though and leaned toward her. 

"Were his muscles big?" She asked in a childish voice through pursed lips, laughing when Aussie's glaring face turned red. 

"Oh, oh! I know!" Gertie cried gleefully as she clapped. 

She handed the spoon over to Aussie and ran into the other room. There was some rummaging and she soon returned with a tube of ointment. 

"Here! You should have a wonderful time rubbing this on his sore shoulder," she said with a grin as she tossed it to Aussie and took her spoon back. 

"What has gotten into you?" Aussie asked as she sat on the counter. 

"I'm just trying to cheer you up."

"You're inappropriate."

"Well, you're not wrong," Gertie shrugged. "But come on, who else would he allow to help him right now? Maybe me, but he'd complain the whole time. Maybe Joan, but she'd suck at it. You dorks kind of need each other. It'd be cute if it weren't so gross."

Aussie palmed her eyes as Gertie spouted all her nonsense.   
"That's... great. Thank you, Gertie."

"My pleasure!"


	39. Water Works

Aussie felt exhausted as she glared at the beaming little girl, happily stirring her pot of soup as Aussie slumped on the counter with the tube of ointment. 

"How are you doing?" Aussie asked after a few minutes, her serious question throwing off the playful vibes. 

"Me? I'm fine," Gertie brushed her off. 

Aussie worried about her, naturally. She'd been in the room when Hedy killed Lanie after Gertie did her best to patch up her double leg amputation. That could mess up even a nutcase like Gertie, but pressing her about it wouldn't do any good though. They were both saved in a way by Gally calling for Aussie again. 

"That was fast," Aussie mumbled as she hopped off the counter. 

"No hair," Gertie pointed out. 

"Ah yeah, that would do it."

Aussie walked to the bathroom. 

"How'd the sling do? Did it give you ample support?" Aussie started to ask with a wry smile, giggling at her own joke as she walked down the hall toward the bathroom. 

She came into the door way to see Gally glaring down at her. She would have laughed at his reaction if she weren't distracted by the little beads of water on his bafflingly flawless skin. 

"Too soon?" She asked earning a small smile and head shake from him before he turned to take a seat again. 

"Um, Gertie gave me some medicine to put on your shoulder, do you mind?" She asked him. "Promise I'll be gentle."

"Alright," he gave a half shrug with his good shoulder. 

Aussie grabbed his towel and sat on the tub edge again, patting his shoulder dry before putting the medication on. She applied it as delicately as possible which meant it was kind of slow going. She had to distract herself from the cute freckles and shoulder muscles somehow. 

"H-how're you feeling? Is it really sore?" She asked him, hoping talking would make this less awkward. 

"Gertie keeps me drugged so it's not too bad. I'm still mostly ahead of the pain I guess," he said. 

"I hope they send more before we run out then. Where is the soreness at? So I don't miss any spots," she asked him. 

He gave her a bashful sideways glance, the medication she'd applied so far warming his skin and the underlying muscles already. He told the truth, though, and let her put it everywhere that hurt, his neck, around his shoulder blade, part of his chest, and down his arm, her little fingers went there without complaint. He almost felt guilty, as if he were taking advantage of her kindness just to feel her touch, but also embarrassed since he had two soggy bras strangling him at the moment. He looked over at her to try and gauge how she was feeling about it all. 

"One day you're gonna bite that lip off," he said when he noticed her sucking up her bottom lip, gently tapping her chin. 

She gave a nervous laugh as she released the reddened, swollen lip, teeth marks and all, and he wondered what made her bite it. Was it nervousness?

"Relax," he told her, his voice and his gaze were soft. "You're not hurting me, I promise."

Aussie felt very warm, all those weird feelings came flooding back and she was afraid she'd get so self conscious it would make her clumsy. 

"Good, good," she muttered as her cheeks turned more pink from the way he looked at her. 

"Soup's ready!" Gertie yelled, making Aussie jump slightly. 

"Ok, how's that feel? Did I cover it all?" She asked after clearing her throat. 

He just nodded. 

"Ok, let's get this off."

She helped him get the wet sling off and tossed it into the tub to deal with later. She helped dry him off, trying so hard to respect him and whatever trauma Hedy had given him by not downright ogling his well toned everything. She nervously pushed her hair back before kneeling in front of him and carefully slipping the sleeve of his new shirt up his sore arm. She recalled how she had admired his large hands when she'd first found him in the box and felt a smirk tug her mouth. His arms were probably thicker than her legs. She supported his sore arm as he put the other through its sleeve, then helped him get it over his head. 

"Ah, we did it," she said happily as she pulled the shirt down his body, her knuckles grazing his sides as she did so. 

When she straightened up to put his regular sling back on, his face was so red his freckles were spots of light by comparison. Her long hair hung in curtains as she leaned over him to adjust the sling around his neck. 

"How's that? Feel ok?" She asked, her fingertips resting gingerly on his shoulders. 

"Yeah, feels good," he said without really thinking as he looked up at her. 

A small, lopsided smile lit her face before her hand ruffled his short hair. 

"Poor Gally," she sighed. "I'm so sorry for everything that happened."

He still couldn't quite comprehend how she had the room to care so much about him when she'd been through even worse. He felt like a comfortable intimacy had built up and he might have a chance to add to it, but he for sure wasn't going to do it from a toilet. He began to stand up, getting very close to Aussie before she reacted with a step backwards. Just one step. 

"It hasn't been all bad" he said as he gently tucked her hair behind her ear, finger tips brushing her jaw. 

Her brows started to rise and her chin tilted upwards as she looked up at him, she seemed to be waiting for whatever he was going to do next. 

"What is taking so long?" Gertie complained as she barged into the bathroom, the door smacking into Aussie. "Aren't you hungry?"

She came in far enough to get the daggers Gally glared at her and the dazed look on Aussie's face. 

"Oh, I interrupted something," she whispered apologetically as she winced. "Well, can't help it now. Come on."

Aussie gave a nervous chuckle as she rubbed the back of her head.   
"Well, I guess we- we better.." she said awkwardly as she jerked her thumb toward the door. 

Gally just nodded, making a mental note to shove Gertie in the pit before he tried anything again. He followed Aussie out of the bathroom and they found Gertie in the kitchen, three bowls of soup steaming on the table. 

The smell hit Aussie, so delicious and comforting. It brought back memories of helping Lanie make it which lead to thinking of Lanie in general. 

Gally sat down and poked around his bowl, wondering if it would be as good as the soup Aussie had made for him a few days ago. He was not expecting to look up and see Aussie crying into her soup. There was no build up, she was fine and then she was not and it was startling. 

Aussie noticed both of them looking at her, their clattering spoons alerting her to the attention. 

"I'm sorry, I don't know why..." she tried to wipe her eyes and laugh it off but she just ended up trailing off in a sob. "I don't know why..."

Gertie got up and grabbed her around the shoulders knowing exactly why she was crying, because Gertie was thinking it too. Lanie wouldn't be making this soup anymore. She wouldn't be doing anything anymore. The taste and the smell would always remind them of that now, and yet it was the only thing Lanie had to leave behind. 

Gally felt dumb for not expecting this. She hadn't done a good cry yet and she was the kind of person who really needed a good cry to get over something. He reached over and held her hand, feeling her squeeze tightly as his own eyes stung, not liking the fact that either of the girls were crying. 

They stayed like that for quite a while. Eventually the waterworks were slowed to a dribble and Gertie suggested they go to the couch and she'd join them after she put the soup away. 

Gally lead Aussie by the hand and sat on the couch with her, his good arm holding her tightly to his side. She didn't protest a bit, just rested her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest as she sniffled. 

"Can you forgive me?" She asked, her voice was congested and raw. 

"Of course," he said with his lips against her hair. 

"You don't know what for yet," she pointed out. 

"I already know I can."

"I know she killed Lanie, and she was trying to kill you, and she tried to kill me... but I feel so bad for killing Hedy," Aussie began to explain. "It doesn't matter if it was an accident, or if it was... justified or not. I'm responsible for a person not being alive anymore. I don't know how I'm supposed to live with that."

Gally wished he had both arms to hold her with. He had to make due with one as he tried to hold her even closer. 

"I'm so sorry," emotion strained his voice. "It-well, it just sucks and I am so sorry it happened that way. But I think, and I hope, that you will go on living like you always have, loving everyone and fighting like crazy for them. I think you deserve to live a good life."

"Me too," Gertie said as she plopped on the couch and draped herself over Aussie. "We all deserve a life after this place."

"And we'll all get there," Gally assured them. "I promise."

They all drifted off to sleep, Gally being the last to go as he stroked Aussie's hair, loving it every time her hand would move against his chest. He'd get her out of there. He'd get her to freedom and safety and then, if he kept that promise, if he really could do that, he'd promise to keep her safe for the rest of her life.


	40. White Rabbit

The whole Garden seemed to be buzzing with activity. There were chores to be caught up on and life to live, as far as they could tell the earth was still turning as it usually did, even after tragedy. 

No one was immune from the desire for distraction, even Gally was busy bugging Joan about the maze. They spent days in the map room going over the model and the map drawings, Joan tiredly retelling the long history of the unsolvable maze. He'd drag Georgia into it as well, surely so many smart girls could figure this thing out. All he knew was the knot in his chest of wanting to get out of there. 

Aussie had finished his first button up shirt and made a second as well, keeping herself busy too. And Gertie was very gung-ho about Gally's physical therapy for his shoulder. She often was roped into the maze discussions since she couldn't pull him away from it as he did his exercises. He never refused to do them or put them off and he always asked about his progress and if he should do more. Gertie was concerned at first that he might do something dumb and set himself back, but that seemed to be exactly what he wanted to avoid, so thankfully he always listened to her. After a few days the sling came off for good, replaced with an arm band Aussie made simply to remind him not to do any heavy lifting for a while. 

"Haven't you learned it all by now?" Gertie asked as she walked into the map room. 

"No," Gally sighed as he sat at the table, looking blankly at the model. "If I had then I'd have a solution. But I don't."

"Well, maybe it'll come today," Gertie said optimistically, earning a confused glance from him. "You know, in the box? It's newbie day, genius."

"That's today?" He asked in surprise. 

"Yeah, you forgot? I wondered why you weren't helping Aussie with the preparations, or at least getting in as much time as you can with her before the newbie sucks up all her time and attention," Gertie grinned teasingly at him.

His brows furrowed. He hadn't thought of it that way, being replaced. It was Aussie's job to show Newbies around, and she'd have to do that for the new girl they'd get today too. But what he and Aussie had going was more than her just taking care of the newbie, wasn't it? 

"I wonder if it'll be another boy..." Gertie mused, glancing at him sideways to see his reaction. 

He didn't disappoint her as he shot up from his chair and his long legs carried him swiftly towards the door. Gertie raced after him with a grin. 

Aussie was pacing by the box as Joan stood stoically.

"Is it time for the-"  
Gally's question was interrupted and answered by the loud alarm for the box going off. 

He picked up his pace to get there as Aussie stood beside Joan, rigid and tensed in anticipation, jumping when he touched her shoulder. More girls gathered, curious what the box might do today. 

"Oh god, oh god," Aussie muttered under her breath, fingers wringing at each other, leg shaking. 

"Hey," Gally said, elbowing her when she didn't look at him at first. "It's gonna be fine."

Her stormy blue eyes didn't look any less worried by his assurances. He didn't even convince himself. 

The rattling came to a stop and Joan went to open the gates. Aussie's hand snapped out like frogs tongue and grabbed his hand tightly as she waited for the big reveal.

"This one's awake," Joan informed her. 

Aussie took a deep breath and Gally felt her thumb rub his palm before she released his hand and carefully climbed down into the box. Gally couldn't help but make a grab for her, not wanting her to get in that thing considering what had happened with the shaft. His hand swiped at empty air however. 

Aussie was moving slowly, hunched over to be less intimidating as she approached the girl. 

"Hey there," she said softly to the girl cowering in the corner. 

"Don't come any closer!" She panted, her arms coiled tightly to her chest. 

"Ok, ok, I'm gonna stay right here," Aussie softly complied as she sat down in the box where she was. "I know you must be confused, maybe a little scared. I know I was. But I'm here to help you, ok? Nobody is going to hurt you."

Gally wished he'd had this kind of experience when he'd arrived, hearing kind words from Aussie's sweet voice was much better than what had actually happened. 

"Really?" The girl asked doubtfully. "Then what happened to you?"

Aussie was still quite bruised up on her arms and face and had completely forgotten about it. 

"Oh me?" She chuckled slightly ruefully as she tried to come up with an explanation. "I just had a run in with ... one of our goats. You can't see them from there, but we have goats and chickens and even a dog. His name is Moo. Oh and my name is Aussie. Do you remember your name yet?" 

The girls eyes shifted away from Aussie's with a look of alarm. 

"It's ok if you don't," Aussie told her gently. "It'll come to you eventually."

"How do you know that?" The girl asked, shifting her attention back to Aussie, breathing heavily on the verge of panic. 

"Because the same thing happened to me and everyone else here. You're not alone, and we're all going to help you through this, ok? Now, you can stay right there for as long as you want, you just let me know when you're ready to come out."

Gally was impressed, Aussie sat there, still and composed, when a minute ago she'd been freaking out. The girl must have relaxed just a little because she rubbed her eyes hard with the heels of her palms for a long moment. 

"Do you feel ok?" Aussie asked her quietly, not moving from her spot. 

"No, my head hurts," the girl sounded to be on the verge of tears. 

"We can give you some medicine to help with that. You probably need to drink some water too, it helps. I can have my friend Gertie bring it here, or you can come with me and we can talk somewhere more comfortable," Aussie offered. 

"I- I guess I can come out," the girl agreed. 

"Ok, let me tell you this so it doesn't surprise you," Aussie smiled to let her know it was ok. "When you stand up you're going to see grass and trees and other girls. And you're going to see some very big walls, ok? I'll explain everything to you, but first let's take care of that headache, alright?"

Aussie reached her hand toward the girl and slowly began getting up, not wanting to startle her. The girl started to uncurl from the corner. She had on olive colored khaki pants and a white shirt, her hair was long and reddish. 

"Did you all get one of these as well?" She asked as she grabbed something from her lap and went to hand it to Aussie. "Do you know what it means?"

Aussie took what turned out to be a small slip of paper. It was white with a black outline of a rabbit on it. Her mouth gaped at it for a second before she recomposed herself and smiled at the girl. 

"We know a little bit about this, there's a lot to explain before it'll make sense though, but we'll get to it," Aussie promised. "Come on, let's take care of you first." 

The girl took her hand and stood up, looking up at the people gathered at the edge of the box. 

"These are my friends, Gertie, Gally, and Joan," Aussie introduced, her eyes trying so hard to communicate with them. 

Joan reached down and helped the girl up out of the box and Gally helped Aussie, his eyes never leaving her until she slipped the paper to him. 

"Like she said, I'm Gertie, I'm kind of the doctor around here," Gertie said as way of distraction. "You said you had a headache?"

Gally looked up at Aussie to find her eyes already on his. 

"White Rabbit," he whispered.


	41. Change in the Wind

Luckily the new girl was just out of it enough that she didn't notice her new friends frantically passing her piece of paper back and forth, having whole conversations with their eyes when they weren't having them under their breath.

She was about as tall as Aussie but meatier, stronger, which didn't take much. Aussie stayed close to her as they all walked toward the house. She was surprisingly quiet and calm as she looked around her new home, unaware of what had taken place there over the past month. It felt like a dark secret they couldn't reveal to someone who was practically born today. 

Before they entered the house Aussie pulled Gally aside by the front door. 

"Could you do me a favor?" She asked, still holding onto his wrist gently. "Could you find Georgia and show her this and explain what's going on?"

She placed the note in his hand and he held onto it and her fingers as well as she spoke. 

"I don't know for sure because I've never been in this situation before, but she might be more comfortable with just girls around. Is that ok?" She bit the right side of her bottom lip as she looked up at him. 

"Yeah, absolutely," he nodded. 

Aussie sighed in relief as she released her lip from the death grip of her teeth.   
"Thank you, you're a peach!" 

"I thought I was a moose?"

"You are a peachy moose, Gally gallant," Aussie smiled at him as she went for the front door. 

"Between you and Gertie I get called the weirdest things..." he teasingly complained as he backed away, throwing her a small smirk before she finally disappeared into the house, still grinning at him too. 

He honestly hoped nothing she just called him would actually stick, he had no idea why he reminded her about the moose thing. Still, it was nice to make her smile before she had to deal with a newbie. 

"Did something good happen?" A sweet little voice spoke up, catching his attention. 

He turned to see a familiar girl standing there, her smile a bright white crescent amidst her extremely dark complexion. She had been there helping with Lanie after the incident. 

"Sorry?" He quirked his brow in confusion. 

"You were smiling," she explained, seeming more shy. "You don't do that very often, so I wondered if something good happened."

"I don't smile?" He asked even more confused. This was news to him. He felt like he was always smiling at-

"You do when Aussie's around, but she's not here," she said as she went up and down on her tiptoes nervously. 

"What's your name again?" He asked her, relaxing his furrowed brow so as not to intimidate her. 

"Rosa," she supplied, putting out her hand. 

"That's right, you help with, uh.." he faltered as he shook her hand, and she luckily saved him. 

"Yeah I was there," she nodded. 

"Yeah. Hey, by any chance have you seen Georgia around?" He asked her. 

"Umm, not that I recall, but I can help you look. If you don't mind, that is," she ground the toe of her shoe in the dirt. 

He felt a little nervous. She seemed nice, but he really didn't need another Hedy situation on his hands either. She seemed much younger though, possibly even younger than Gertie, and far too innocent, so he didn't have the heart to shoot her down. 

"Sure, that would be... helpful," he said with his best impression of a friendly expression. 

"Oh thanks!" She lit up with excitement as she walked with him. "Sorry, I don't mean to be weird. I just- I had this conversation with Aussie a while ago, about boys, and I thought maybe I should practice talking to one before I get out of here and meet more. Sorry, is that weird?"

Gally was still about 10 words behind in comprehending what she'd just said.

"Uh, that's fine by me. Not like you have any other options," he shrugged as he looked around for Georgia. 

"To be honest, I was kind of scared of you at first," she admitted as she practically scampered alongside him like a chihuahua and a Great Dane strolling together. "But Aussie said you were really nice."

"She did?" He asked, glancing down at her briefly. This might not be so bad after all, getting some inside scoop about Aussie and what she has to say about him.

"Yeah! Hedy said you were cold and hot headed, but Aussie said she knew you better. She said you could be intimidating but you were a teddy bear, and that you were funny too. She likes you," Rosa babbled with little prompting much to Gally's delight. 

She seemed too young to realize it was odd to be talking about Hedy so easily for one, and to reveal all this to him so openly, but he wasn't about to tell her that. He just hoped she would keep talking.

"She likes me?" He asked almost happily. 

"Yeah! That's what she said," Rosa smiled at him. "Hedy had been saying all this weird stuff I didn't understand about things just being physical and what it'd be like to kiss you-"

Gally wished she would stop talking immediately. His eyes darted around hoping to spot Georgia and have an excuse to get away. 

"And Aussie- well first she dropped a plate on her foot. But I asked her if she liked you and she said yes, and then I asked her if she liked you enough to do what Hedy was talking about-"

Screw finding Georgia, he had to hear how this ended. 

"She got kind of flustered, and said she wasn't sure. She told me two people should be very very good friends before they do stuff like that. I think she's right," Rosa said, missing how Gally's shoulders slumped. 

"Oh," he said disappointedly. 

He really thought that Aussie was onboard during all their little almost moments, heck she even initiated one herself. 

He shook himself from these thoughts as he realized he should set a better example for such an impressionable young girl. "Well, she is right. Don't let a boy kiss you until you know him really well. It's better that way."

"You and Aussie are good friends though, does that mean you kissed?" She asked him making his cheeks go pink. 

"Well, we are good friends, at least I think so," he said as he shifted his weight to one foot. "But uh, no, we haven't."

"Oh, you don't want to?"

"Oh no, I do-" the words popped out before he knew what he was saying, his eyes going wide with regret. The young girl's big mouth was apparently infectious.  
"Please don't tell her I said that," he begged her. 

She giggled.   
"I promise."

That didn't mean much to him and he was suddenly mortally nervous. 

"How do you know you like her more than all the other girls here?" She asked him, distracting him from the terror seeping into his bones about her blabbing his desire to kiss Aussie to anyone, especially Aussie herself. "Do you think she's the prettiest?"

Oh good god, what was he supposed to say to this? He felt like he'd make the worst parent in the world. 

"Well, it's... complicated," he said carefully. "But at the same time it's kinda simple."

"That makes no sense."

Gally laughed at her directness. 

"You're right. Um, geez, how do I explain it," he stopped and rubbed the back of his neck. "People have... qualities, right? So, for example, what are some things about Aussie that you like?"

"I like the way she talks to me," Rosa smiled sweetly. "She never makes me feel dumb. Not everyone talks to me like she does. But she also listens to what I have to say too. She's explained this place to every girl here, you know? But she never gets upset about having to do it over and over, answer the same questions that every new girl has. She's nice to all of them."

That warmed his heart a little bit. 

"So, you like that she's patient and kind. Those are qualities you like," Gally started his attempt at an explanation, hoping it would make sense to her. "Everyone has different good qualities, and some have more than others, or less. And you may like more things about one person than another."

"Like how I like more things about Aussie than I did about Hedy?"

"Exactly!" He exclaimed in relief. "So when you find a guy and you like more things about him than anyone else, and you get this feeling in your gut and in your heart that you'd do anything to help them, and you want to be around them all the time, then that's how you know you love them."  
He never felt weirder in his short memorable life. He'd run into the maze before having another conversation like this again. 

Rosa was smiling like she really understood him though. 

"You're not going to tell any of this to Aussie, are you? I'd really appreciate it if it stayed between us," he repeated. 

"I promised! I always keep my promises," she laughed. 

"Alright, well... let's hurry up and find Georgia," he said as he got moving again. 

They spotted her working in the gardens and Gally practically sprinted to her, his savior from any more awkward conversation. 

"Georgia!" He almost cheered as he came up behind her. 

"Válgame dios!" Georgia exclaimed as she jumped and clamped a hand over her heart. 

Gally froze, not sure how to react to scaring someone into another language. Even Georgia looked surprised as she tried to catch her breath. 

"Uh, sorry," he started as he knelt by her. "Aussie sent me to find you and show you this."

He handed her the paper with the rabbit drawn on it. 

"The newbie had it with her," he explained. 

Georgia's eyes widened as she brought the paper very close to her face, making Gally wonder if her vision was bad. 

"Fantastic!" She finally yelled, throwing her arms up in the air. "You know what this means?"

"Shhh! Keep your voice down!" Gally shushed her. "They're talking to her in the house."

Georgia was smiling like a maniac.   
"This means she's the white rabbit!" She exclaimed quietly as she squeezed his arms, her eyes bright and actually happy? Is that what happy looked like on Georgia? "She's gonna solve the maze!"

Gally furrowed his brows and pried her dirty paws off his biceps. 

"What now?" He asked and received a much more in character eye roll from her. 

"White Rabbit! Follow the white rabbit when it arrives. I bet you every inch of this shuckin' place she's gonna want to be a runner and she's gonna get us out of here," Georgia explained. 

"She just got here, how is she supposed to solve what no ones been able to in 3 years?" Gally asked doubtfully. 

"Things are about to change," Georgia repeated the words from the note with a broad smile.


	42. The More the Scarier

Gally followed Georgia to the house, wondering if he could go in or at least get an update on the situation. He trailed in behind her as she excitedly marched into the living room. 

"How's our Newbie?" She asked them. 

Aussie's eyes landed on Gally lingering by the door and gave him a smile. 

"We fed her, and we've been explaining some things to her," Gertie said from beside her on the couch. "We have some things to tell her still."

That was a surprisingly subtle hint from Gertie. Maybe she saved all her brutal bluntness for Gally only. 

"I'm feeling kind of tired, can we pick this up later?" The new girl asked. 

"Absolutely," Aussie nodded. "The first day is the worst, shaking off what they did to you."

"Come on, I'll take you to a room where you can rest," Gertie said nodding for her to follow. 

Aussie got up as well and came toward Gally, nodding to the door. He opened it and went out with Aussie, Joan, and Georgia. Everyone seemed to be wearing different expressions. Georgia was curious and practically vibrating with anticipation, Joan seemed annoyed, and Aussie looked quite pleased indeed.

"Somebody say something before I explode!" Georgia finally demanded. 

"Let's get a little farther from the house so she won't overhear us," Aussie said as she led them away. 

They all sat at a table under the big tree and Aussie started talking. 

"She's doing amazingly well," Aussie beamed while Joan still looked vaguely disgruntled. "She doesn't seem afraid, she just accepts things."

"She accepts whatever you tell her," Joan clarified. 

Gally sat up straighter, feeling himself go on the defensive. He didn't know what Joan was getting at but he wouldn't let her turn on Aussie now. 

"What do you mean by that?" He asked her, his brows furrowing as a warning to choose her words carefully. 

"Oh, calm down," she rolled her eyes. "It's like I said before, the newbies won't listen to anyone but Aussie. It's really annoying."

Aussie seemed distressed by this.   
"I'm sorry, it must just be the fact I have a lot of practice with the newbies," Aussie offered. "I must have learned how to get them to trust me quickly."

"Honestly Joan," Georgia rolled her eyes with a sigh. "You have the bed side manner of a gargoyle, and Aussie is the patron saint of puppy breath and butterflies. Of course they're gonna gravitate toward her. Stop moaning. Aussie, continue. How much does she know?"

"Um, well," Aussie glanced at Joan nervously before going on. "She knows about the walls and the maze, just that it's dangerous, we haven't talked grievers yet. I told her how long I've been here and that we get regular supplies and a new girl every month- oh and Gally of course. I think she'll be able to handle the rest of the story, I just want to be very careful how we tell it to her. It's a terrible story that will likely- very likely, traumatize her, and I just don't want to add to it by telling it to her wrong, you know?"

Georgia and Gally nodded. 

"How do we do that, then?" Joan asked her. 

"Well, let's give her some space to breathe and see what she asks us. Whoever's asking the questions is in control, so let's let her be in control, choose what she's ready to hear about," Aussie suggested. "If she freaks out about the grievers we gotta give her time to accept it before we dump 'you're supposed to lead us out of here' on her or it may not work out in our favor."

"Mmm that's a good point," Georgia mused. 

"So we agree, we answer any questions she asks but we don't tell her about White Rabbit without checking with each other first?" Aussie asked. 

They all nodded. 

"I'll let Gertie know," Georgia said before getting up and going to the house. 

Joan also went to get up but Aussie wasn't done with her yet. 

"Joan, are we good?" She asked a little nervously. 

"Yeah, we're good," she sighed. "I just get sick of the newbies questioning everything I tell them."

Aussie gave a small, knowing smile.   
"Remember when you were a newbie? You didn't believe a thing I told you."

"Yeah, I guess that's come full circle to bite me in the butt," Joan shook her head.

Gally and Aussie were left alone then, a comfortable silence hanging around them for a moment. 

"How's it going in the map room?" Aussie asked him, flicking a leaf off the table. 

Gally sighed as he leaned back in his chair.   
"No developments whatsoever," he admitted. "But that figures. Why would I be able to solve in a few days what you all haven't been able to solve in years?"

"Well it's always a good thing to get a new perspective on it," Aussie tried to comfort him. "Once we figure out everything that doesn't work, what's left is the answer. Right? So figuring out everything that won't get us out of here will lead us to what will."

Gally stared at her until she was too shy to hold his gaze anymore. 

"How do you do that?" He asked her, leaning forward and resting his arm on the table, getting closer to her. "How do you stay so positive?"

Aussie seemed to blush as she looked down at the table.   
"I'm not. Not really. I just don't want anyone else to feel bad," she shrugged. 

"What do you mean?"   
Their hands rested on the table so close together, he wanted to close the distance and hold her hand. 

"Gally," a serious and somber tone took over her voice. "When I got here, there was just one other girl. She had spent a month all alone and was already kinda crazy. She had no one around to explain this place to her, she didn't explain it to me either. I had to figure it all out myself. In the beginning I did go into the maze everyday to try and figure it out. Then Athena came and Mary killed herself and we still had no idea what we were supposed to do. Girls kept coming, but there were only 11 of us after a year. I started getting sick and weak and... I just knew that I'd never make it out of here, that I'd die here too. And I never wanted the others to feel that way."

Gally did take her hand, holding it in both of his like it was something precious and fragile. He hated how she said that with dry eyes, like she'd accepted this fate and cried all her tears for herself already. 

"Aussie, you are getting out of here," he told her firmly and was surprised to see a smile light her face. 

"You know, ever since you got here I started to believe I could," she told him. "How do you do that?"

Gally didn't know how he got her to believe that when he was terrified of everything beyond the walls. He'd live here with Aussie till they grew old and died if it meant being with her that long, but he knew she'd never be happy that way. She wanted to get out, she had to, so that's what he'd do. The fact that she had faith in him made him feel a swell of pride in his chest. Maybe he wasn't so cowardly after all. 

The new girl woke up around dinner time and ate almost three helpings. Aussie was keeping her water glass full and making sure she had everything she wanted. Gally hated to admit that he was a little bit jealous. 

At one point the girl let out a giant belch, slapping a hand over her mouth in embarrassment before suddenly yelling. 

"Oh my god! I remembered my name!" She laughed. "I'm Rachel!"

All the girls cheered for her, patting her shoulder and squeezing her arms. Gally shook his head with a small grin, remembering how no one but Aussie cared when he remembered his own name. He looked at Aussie who was smiling at Rachel, but he didn't see the light in her eyes like when he told her his name. It was small and petty but it made him glad. 

Rachel was awake most of the night and kept Aussie up too, asking her question after question. Gally sat on the couch waiting for her as had become their custom, but sleep overcame him before she ever came downstairs. 

All he could do was dream of her. Rooftops and fireflies, her face smiling at him, her hand in his until she inevitably disappeared by the end. 

He woke up alone as well, which felt off. He rubbed his face and got up stretching, his shoulder not yet ready for that kind of motion, and went to the bathroom. 

As he washed his face he couldn't help but still feel that something was off, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was. 

Until the alarm rang. 

He quickly dried his face and ran out of the bathroom. 

"Aussie!" He yelled up the stairs. 

Nothing. 

He ran outside to see what was happening and was relieved to see Aussie as she ran across the clearing toward the box. He ran to catch up, still a ways away as they lifted the doors. 

He was getting close when Aussie took a step back from the box. She shared a quick glance with Joan before she took another step back, putting a hand over her mouth. 

"What is it?" Gally called when he was a few yards away. 

Aussie turned and he saw the look of distress on her face. She didn't answer, just stared at him with knitted brows and wide eyes. After seeing her react to a goat massacre and the double amputation of a close friend he was genuinely worried about what those shucking makers had just sent up to put that look on her face. 

He finally reached her side, gripping her shoulder as he looked down in the box. His breath caught in his throat. 

Laying unconscious on the metal floor of the box was another boy. He had on a blue shirt and grey pants, a white piece of paper standing out against the deep tan of his skin as it rested in his hand. His dark hair was short like Gally's was when he'd first arrived. 

No one made a move or spoke a word. The new guy was actually the first one to break the silence when he gasped and coughed as he awakened. Joan lowered herself into the box to help him since Aussie wasn't moving a muscle, just looking down at him like he was an alien. 

He propped himself up on his elbows and his eyes locked onto her. Gally felt her tense under his hand. He certainly didn't like this development, but he didn't understand why Aussie was reacting this way. 

"Aussie?" The guy wheezed. "It's you."

Gally watched Aussie's eyes widen, taking on a terrified expression before the boy passed out once again, Joan catching him before he could crack his head on the metal floor. She retrieved the note from his hand and looked at it, the color draining from her long face. She looked up at them and held the note so they could see. 

HE'S THE LAST ONE EVER.


	43. Blind Jealousy

Aussie sat there, looking down as she picked at her nails, one leg bouncing like a crazed jackhammer. Joan and Georgia sat staring at her but Gally couldn't keep still, he paced the room with his arms crossed. He didn't know it but his face and his ears were red. Not the same red as when Aussie had to help undress and redress him, no, this was an angry red. And that's partly why Aussie felt so nervous. 

"So..." Georgia awkwardly spoke up. "Things are definitely changing huh?"

"Do you know that guy?" Gally suddenly asked, his tone so flat it barely sounded like a question at all. 

Aussie shook her head, still not meeting anyone's eyes.   
"You guys realize I could know a lot of people, I just don't remember them?" 

"It seems like this guy knows you," Joan raised her brows a bit. 

"Yeah, it's a nice change of pace," Aussie neurotically chuckled. "Someone comes up in the box actually remembering something."

"Aussie, why are you acting so weird if you don't remember him?" Georgia finally asked, looking at her bouncing leg that suddenly went still with that comment. 

"Why am I- out of everyone here why does he know me?" She questioned after her eyes snapped sharply over to Georgia. "Do you know how weird it feels to have a- a stranger know you when you've been living in a hole for three years?"

"Is that... your only reason?" Georgia asked carefully. 

Aussie got up and started a small pacing of her own, careful not to cross paths with Gally. She bit her thumb nail, her other arm crossed her body as if holding herself together. 

"I don't know, I don't know," she sighed irritably. "I don't remember him, but I just have a weird feeling about him."

Gally stopped pacing, his arms going to his sides. He had experienced weird feelings too, feelings that led him to openly admitting to a nosey little girl with a motor mouth that he did in fact want to kiss Aussie. If her weird feelings were anything like his-

He had to get out of there. Without a word he turned and left, closing the front door hard behind him. He wasn't about to step foot in the Maze corridor to use the Anger Resolution Station, so he began to jog the usual path. Then he got angry that jogging wasn't making him feel better so he started sprinting. His feet pounded the ground as his pulse pounded his ears, every impact setting off a twinge in his bad shoulder. 

He'd gotten into the woods and finally had to stop, palms braced on his knees as he sucked wind. He was still mad, but extra mad since he didn't know why he was so mad. He couldn't punch a tree because he'd break his hand and Gertie would ask him a thousand times why he punched a tree, and he couldn't scream because someone would absolutely hear him. He had nothing to do for release and that also upset him. 

He pried a rock up out of the dirt and just hurled it as hard as he could, hearing a thunk as it hit a tree, then a clack as it bounced and hit the wall. Well, that was something. He found another one and chucked it blindly once again, this time hearing a strange clatter. His shoulders drooped as he sighed. What was it now? 

He shuffled over toward the noise and saw the graves, Lanie's marker knocked over. 

"Geez, the one girl here that didn't make Aussie or I miserable and I mess her grave up," he groaned under his breath as he began to fix it. "You wouldn't believe what's happening now."

Somehow it was easy to talk to a dead person so he kept going. 

"Another guy showed up today and he recognized Aussie. Yup. You heard me, he recognized Aussie. And even worse, he 'gives her a funny feeling'," he said in a mocking tone. "You know who else had a funny feeling? Me. But now I know what it turns into."

Something on the marker caught his eye, something he hadn't noticed before. The letters were impossibly tiny for a wood carving, but he could read it plain as day. 

Lanie. 17th to arrive. 4th to pass away. She kept the gardens. If the 10 foot tomato plant is still here, she grew that herself. She never complained, and she made the best soup I ever had. She was a good friend, and impossibly brave. If you can take her out of this place, please do. She deserves to be free. 

He looked at the marker next to hers, older and faded, but there were small words on it too. 

Helen. 14th to arrive. 2nd to pass away. She is not buried here, she was lost to the maze. Part of me hopes she is free. Whatever the case may be, we won't forget her and I hope she'll be remembered when we're all gone too, wherever and however we may go. 

He read every grave marker, even Hedy's which was just as heartfelt as the rest. He spent the most time with Mary. Aussie was brand new when she wrote that one, just a month old for all she could remember.

Mary. 1st to arrive. 1st to pass away.   
I didn't get to know her very well, but I hope one day someone takes her out of this place. She wanted to go home more than anything. I guess she couldn't wait. I hope she's at peace now, and I really hope she'll never be alone again. 

He looked at the graves beside hers and remarked that she was not alone, but in the worst way possible. He wasn't angry anymore, just sad. He wiped his face and got up, dusting off his pants. 

The woods were getting darker and he could smell dinner cooking, so he ambled that way. As the trees gave way to the clearing he heard voices and... giggling?

Oh great, the new guy was up and about and drawing quite a crowd. Girls were smiling, covering their mouths as they giggled, whispering to each other. Some actually talked with him. 

Huh. So it was personal. 

He spotted Aussie just as far from him as could be, looking glum. Gertie, Joan, Georgia and Rachel were hanging around her, watching the show as well. He made his way over almost entirely unnoticed. 

"Where the heck did you go?" Gertie asked him when he got closer, one hand going to her hip. 

"To clear my head," he shrugged. 

Aussie perked up slightly at his voice. But didn't say anything. 

"Hey, I'm Rachel," the new girl gave him a handshake. "Aussie has told me a lot about you. Nice to meet you."

He just nodded to her. Joan caught his eye as she gave him a strange look. 

"So what's going on?" Gally asked no one in particular. 

"The new guy woke up, obviously," Georgia began. "His name is Aris, and if we had a stack of Bibles he'd swear on them that he knows Aussie, but he either doesn't know how, or he's just not telling us."

Gally looked over at him chatting up the girls around him, flashing smiles. He ran his hand over his hair and looked Aussie's way. Gally saw her duck her head in his peripheral vision. He didn't like any of this one bit. 

Aussie wasn't a fan of the situation either. When she said this guy gave her a weird feeling, she meant she didn't like him a bit. Something deep inside her told her she couldn't trust him and she wanted as much distance between them as she could get. Unfortunately he just seemed to want to get as close to her as possible. 

When he'd woken up again he only wanted to talk to her. She sat alone with him awkwardly as he tried to convince her he knew her. By the way he reached for her hands several times she could only guess what kind of relationship he was trying to convince her they had. Still her gut told her no, and she'd pull away from him, act like she had to retie her pony tail or scratch her nose. 

All the girls who had gotten a good look at him seemed smitten. That made Aussie glad, they might distract him from her. He wasn't horrible looking if she was being objective, she got why the other girls would be taken with him. Still, he was just a little taller than her and very slender, or maybe he seemed that way because she was used to Gally. Gally who was tall and broad with a fist the size of her head. Gally with the freckles on his Cupid's bow. Gally with the eyebrows and the full bottom lip and the smile that made her forget her problems. That Gally sat sulkily across from her at the table avoiding her gaze and not saying much at all. 

She sighed as she poked at her food, wishing she knew what was going on in his head. He'd just stormed out for god knows why and didn't come back. She was scared she'd done something wrong. 

"Hey there!" Aris appeared suddenly and startled Aussie so bad she kneed the underside of the table. 

He set his food down and added his chair to the head of their table right there between Aussie and Gally. Aris was looking at her happily and a bit hopefully while Gally stared at him like he should be 6 feet under and pushing up daisies. 

"These carrots are really good," Aris chimed, trying to make conversation. "I bet you made them Aussie."

"Oh gosh, no," she said nervously. "I haven't been in the kitchen in ages."

"But we always follow your recipe for carrots," Gertie pointed out, confused, and earned a glare from Aussie. 

"Aha, I knew it," Aris smiled. 

He then turned to Gally with the same bright smile and offered his hand. 

"Hi, I'm Aris. We haven't met yet but I've heard a lot about you," he said just as friendly as could be. 

Gally found it way too suspicious. No one who shows up here is ever this happy about it. He wordlessly shook his hand, taking great pleasure in the slight falter of his smile when Gally squeezed his smaller hand.

"So you've been here about a month now?" Aris asked as he lightly shook his hand out and flexed it a few times. 

Gally didn't answer him, just furrowed his brows in a 'why are you asking?' kind of way. 

"A month is a long time, especially in such close quarters. You must know everyone pretty well by now," Aris went on undeterred by Gally's rudeness. 

"You ask a lot of questions," Gally stated as he eyed him, not sure if he was older or younger, but definitely smaller and lighter. Very... throwable. 

"Don't most people?" Aris chuckled. "From what I understand at least."

"Yeah, but it's usually stuff like 'where am I?' 'What's with the walls?' 'Why can't I remember anything but my name?' You know, important shuck like that," Gally explained with a critical gaze. 

Aussie for one was terrified of ever getting grilled by Gally like this, but couldn't take her eyes off him for another. Relief settled in her bones that he too didn't trust this guy as far as he could throw him, which she guessed would be pretty far. 

"Oh, well, I do remember more than my name," Aris chimed happily, apparently impervious to Gally's brand of intimidation which was a bit disappointing. He turned a soft gaze toward Aussie. "I remember her."

Aussie felt sick. She dropped her fork as her appetite left her and nervously touched her face. 

"I know she doesn't remember me, not yet at least, and she's freaking out a little bit- which is understandable, but I'm sure she'll warm back up to me eventually," Aris said as he reached for her hand. 

She pulled it away so quickly it was astonishing. 

"Please, don't..." Aussie quietly requested. 

"Right, sorry," Aris pressed his lips together, embarrassed. "I'm just so used to doing it, it's like a reflex."

Gally could barely stop himself from standing up and giving this guy an uppercut so bad he'd go flying over the maze walls. But he managed.

"How are you still used to doing anything with her when she's been here three years?" Gally asked with narrowed eyes. 

Aris shrugged with a lopsided smile.   
"Well, I don't think you can really forget anything when you're in love."


	44. Trauma Central

Love? LOVE? Did he just shucking say Love? Aussie felt like stabbing him with a fork just to change the subject. She didn't want to hear those words from him, she didn't want to be near him, she didn't even want to share the Garden with him. 

The fact that everything he did that was nice and sweet turned her stomach instead of making her feel closer to him was a bad sign. He could be straight up lying to her. Now, if Gally had told her he knew her from before the maze, she'd believe him. And even if he told her he'd been madly in love with her before hand, she didn't think she'd freak out the way she was now. Heck, if she'd been in love with him before the maze then a lot of things would start making some shucking sense! 

"Aris," she finally spoke up carefully, avoiding his gaze. "I am sorry, this must be hard for you too, but I don't remember you. I have none of these memories you talk about, and I don't have any of the feelings either. So can we just not talk about it?"

"But if I don't talk about it how will you ever remember?" He asked, his dark eyes becoming glassy. "I can't just let go of a second chance with you."

Gally bent his fork. And if he knew that Aris touched her knee under the table he would have found a new home for that fork. 

Aussie sprang up and away from his touch, knocking her chair over. She just stood there for a second, everyone looking up at her except for Gally who'd stood up half a second after, ready to chuck this guy in the maze as soon as she gave the word. She didn't bother to say anything, she just turned and walked away as fast as she could toward the house. 

"Aussie!" Aris called after her as he stood up as well, frozen by her outburst at first. 

A heavy hand fell on his shoulder and pushed him back down into his seat. Gally leaned down so only Aris could hear him, squeezing his shoulder painfully. 

"If you go near her, I'll break every rule in this place as far as you're concerned," he whispered threateningly in his ear, pulling back to give him a hard stare to make sure he understood before going after Aussie.

Gertie was halfway to the house, also following after her, so Aris was left with Joan, Georgia and Rachel. 

"I am sorry for you, dude," Georgia said around a mouthful. "But you need to rethink your technique."

"What do you mean?" Aris asked. 

"Well, think about it. If you were in her shoes how would you react to someone you don't remember, therefore you don't know, coming and trying to tell you who you are?" Georgia clarified for him. 

"Also, you need to be careful of Gally," Joan added quickly since Georgia forgot the most important point. "They've grown quite close and he is fiercely protective of her."

"Yeah, I noticed," Aris mumbled unhappily as he rubbed his neck. "So, what do you think I should do?"

Georgia and Joan shared a glance. They really didn't want to advise this guy on how to get between Aussie and Gally. 

"Aussie told you what she wanted," Joan reminded him. "Listen to her."

Aussie hugged a pillow as she curled up on the bed, sitting up still in case that psycho followed her in there, she didn't want to be vulnerable. The anxiety was making her stomach roil and she wanted to stay close to the bathroom just in case. Gertie came in just behind her, crashing next to her on the bed. 

"Aussie are you alright?" She asked as she touched her arm. 

"No, I'm not alright," Aussie almost groaned. "I just want him to stay away from me!"

"Given the fact that Gally isn't here yet, I don't think you're going to have to worry about that now," Gertie pointed out. 

"Oh, bless him!" Aussie sighed. 

They heard the door open and close and unmistakably heavy footfalls. 

"Back here!" Gertie called with a small smile. 

Gally came through the door looking concerned and ready to murder, which only made Gertie smile wider.

Gally was surprised to find Aussie in the room where she discovered her second dead body in three short years. Given how she was so freaked out by the basement for so long he didn't think he'd find her in this room either. That seemed like a sign something was really wrong. He slowed down and tried to move softly, not wanting to set her off anymore. She seemed jumpy. 

"Hey," he said as he came over, sitting at the foot of the bed to give her some space. 

He didn't dare ask if she was alright, she wasn't, or what was going on, he knew, but he had to check on her. 

"Did you put the fear of God in him?" Gertie asked. "Or better yet, the fear of Gally?"

"If he has a functioning brain cell, yes," he said, earning a small smile from Aussie. 

"Thanks Gally, I appreciate it," she said, uncurling a little bit. 

"Yeah?" He asked, fishing for clues as to what he should do. 

"Yeah," Aussie nodded. "I don't want him near me for a while."

"I can manage that," Gally nodded.

"Hey, while you guys are here and the newbies aren't, should we talk about the big problem?" Gertie asked, looking between them. 

The big problem was that, when the box came up with Aris, it didn't go back down. Usually it retracted by now, but it stayed hours after Aris came out of it. 

"Maybe the whole "last one ever" was more about the box than the boy," Gertie pointed out. 

"That's probably why the note Gally came with said we'd have to get out once the white rabbit showed up," Aussie concluded. "If we have no more supplies coming we will definitely have problems sustaining ourselves here."

"Any clue how we're going to do that yet?" Gertie asked with forced hope. 

"Not yet," Aussie sighed after she shared a look with Gally. "We'll have to work with Rachel a little more I think. She's gotta have some kind of important or else she wouldn't have had the rabbit clue."

Aussie shrugged and Gally thought it was cute how she did it, blowing a lock of hair out of her face from her sloppy bun. 

"Alright," Gertie nodded. "Well, we're burning daylight on that then. What if I distract the new guy, tell him he's dehydrated or something and keep him laid up in the house while you guys, Joan and Gertie take Rachel to the map room?"

"That's not a bad idea," Aussie pulled a face as she nodded. "But! I don't want you alone with him either, get some one to help you- get two other girls to help you."

Gertie snickered.   
"Shouldn't be hard, the chuckleheads all seem to think he's gorgeous, they'll jump at the opportunity to hang around him."

Gally's brows furrowed in a slightly sad way at that. Oh, what was he thinking, after his experience with Hedy this guy could have all their attention. Still, it stung a little though. 

"Ok, maybe Gally and I can sneak around him so he doesn't know what we're up to," Aussie suggested. 

"You're just trying to avoid him," Gertie deduced correctly. 

"So what if I am?" Aussie shot back. 

"Aussie, you're practically the Queen here, don't let the first jerky guy you meet control you like that," Gertie gently grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake. 

"Hey, I think you just complimented me," Gally observed. 

"Well, of course you're not a jerk. You're an idiot," Gertie clarified for him, making his expression go flat. 

Aussie rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile as she got up from the bed. 

"He's neither," she told Gertie sternly as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse us, we're going to ruin a girls life."

Gally was just thankful that he still had touch privileges. 

"I'll come and collect the bozo as well," Gertie sighed, and they all left the house. 

Gally felt a sense of relief finally as he watched Gertie and two other eager girls lead Aris back to the house, his furtive glances over his shoulder directed at Aussie being completely ignored by her. Aussie couldn't stand him and Gertie couldn't stand him either, as long as those two were on his side shuck the rest. He stood with his arms crossed, his body blocking Aussie from his sight as she talked to the other girls. He was not ignoring Aris and the attention was not favorable. 

Even with Aris holed up in the house, Gally still walked close to Aussie, shoulders squared, being the best bodyguard he could be. Even when they got to the map room he gently put his hand on Aussie's waist to lead her to the other side of the table, that way he could sit next to her and also watch the door. He may even have moved his chair closer to hers, who's to say. 

"I want to be a runner," Rachel informed them as soon as her cheeks hit the seat. 

Aussie paused in the middle of pulling her chair in closer to the table, brows raised high as she stared at the new girl across the tarp covered table. 

"Ok... and why is that?" She asked her, finally settling in to her seat. 

"I know this is gonna sound strange, but I really feel like I'm supposed to be one," Rachel explained, her hand going to her chest to emphasize the depth of that feeling. 

"You understand that there's things in there that attack people, right? We went over that, do you remember?" Georgia questioned her as if she possibly caught a second case of amnesia. 

"I know, I know," Rachel assured her, the expression on her face plainly saying she couldn't believe it either. "But that obviously means we can't stay here, right?"

"And you believe you can solve what we haven't been able to in three years?" Joan spoke up from her other side. 

"I think my time is best spent at least trying-"

"Do you believe you can solve it?" Joan repeated, her tone and volume slightly antagonizing. 

"Yes," Rachel blurted, her hands lightly coming down on the tables edge as she admitted it. "Yes, I do."

Joan looked looked to Aussie after that. Aussie was not the calculating type, she could read emotions on someone's face but she could not fathom what Joan was trying to telepathically convey to her in that look. Forget wavelengths, they had different oceans. 

So Aussie did what she'd never recommend anyone do. She winged it. 

"Listen," Aussie said, leaning forward with her elbows on the table, fingers clasped in front of her. "I know how traumatic it is to come up in that box, not remembering anything, so my inclination- naturally, is to be as kind and gentle as I can with everyone who comes here. The last thing I want to do is further traumatize anyone unnecessarily."

Rachel sat there listening intently but also looking confused. 

"So my question for you is basically..." Aussie trailed off with a sigh as her gaze floated and shifted, searching for the right words. "If I assure you it's necessary, how much can you take? I mean, in terms of outlandish and crazy information that may or may not make any sense to you, and could in fact put a heck of a lot of pressure on you. Can you handle more trauma?"

Rachel looked at each face that was now staring at her, waiting for the answer. Finally her eyes landed on Aussie again. This girl looked like the maze had chewed her up but she would not let it swallow her. She was a tender, loving force that would not be destroyed, and she would get as many people out of here as she could. Whatever she had to say, Rachel could take. 

"Yes, I can take it."


	45. Strangers in the Night

They spent hours with Rachel explaining the history of the maze to her, Aussie patiently answering all her questions that she'd heard almost 40 times before. They were still there when the maze doors rumbled closed and Moo came sniffing around for Aussie. They'd taken the tarp off the model maze and Rachel was staring at it, her fingers laced in her hair as she cradled her head in frustration. 

"I think we need to call it a night," Joan spoke up, taking her feet off the table and letting the front legs of her chair hit the floor again. "This will probably look different after you sleep on it."

"It's no good," Rachel shook her head. "I have to go in there. I know I have to do it."

Aussie and Joan shared a look. 

"Well, I guess it's about time we started running again," Aussie shrugged. 

She saw Gally lean forward.   
"And by 'we' you mean anyone but you, right?" He asked her. 

Aussie turned and gave him a look, not liking being reminded how unqualified she was to run, but still kind of liking his concern. 

"Right," she finally agreed, watching him relax. "'We' doesn't include me because I'm a sucky runner."

"You know who is a good runner?" Joan asked, her eyes darting to Gally. 

"No," Aussie blurted quickly, her heart clenching at the thought. 

"I think it's up to him," Joan raised her brow. "Besides, he's the fastest and strongest one of us all."

Gally also hated the idea of going in there, but couldn't argue with the logic. Besides, much like Rachel, he felt like solving this place was something he was supposed to do. 

"I'll do it."

Aussie snapped her head around to look at him. He couldn't bear to look at her face and see her expression, he already felt the hurt radiating from her. His own chest hurt at the very idea of leaving her alone there with Aris trolling around, but the sooner they got out of there the sooner they could be rid of him. 

Dreams of living free in an actual home... with Aussie... drove him to swallow the knot of fear in his throat and really commit to the escape. 

"Alright, sounds like we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow," Joan said as she got up. "Better rest up for it." 

"Wait, you're going too?" Georgia perked up. 

"I am the most experienced runner."

"Yeah but your eye!"

"That's what I got these two for. She's the eyes, he's the muscle, I'm the brains," Joan grinned. "Besides, if there's one thing I've learned from Aussie, it's that you can't ask someone to do something you're not willing to do yourself."

Aussie's gaze left Gally to look at her instead in mild surprise. She didn't realize Joan had noticed that about her. 

"Seriously, we need to get to bed, come on," Joan repeated as she took a step toward the door, wrapping the meeting up before things got too mushy. 

As they got up and filed out Gally wasn't all that surprised to feel Aussie slip her hand in his and stop him from going out the door. He took a deep breath before turning and looking down at her. She glared up through her eyelashes at him, her neutral brows and mouth looked absurdly unamused but in a cute way. She was mad at him. 

"What?" He finally asked her when she stayed silent for a bit too long. 

"Gally... why?" She finally shrugged in confusion, still holding his hand. 

He reached out and took her other hand as well. 

"Because you and... my sister need me to," he said, running his thumbs over the backs of her hands. 

Her eyes went wide at that, her lips parting as her jaw dropped slightly. 

"You think so?" She asked him. 

"I feel it," he nodded. 

"Did you tell her?" Aussie took a step closer. 

"Not yet," he shook his head. "I don't want to freak her out on top of everything already going on. Besides, I don't think she'd be too happy about being related to me. She'll demand a DNA test for sure."

Aussie laughed at that, a real, genuine laugh because she knew he was right. 

"Come on, let me walk you to your place so I know you got there safe, I better get to bed or Joan will be, I dunno, disappointed in me or something," he said as he tried to pull her toward the door. 

He didn't want this to end, but he knew how important it was that he be at his best tomorrow. 

Aussie's brows furrowed unhappily again once he reminded her of the impending doom tomorrow carried with it now. 

"Stupid Joan," she mumbled under her breath, kicking a rock as they began to walk across the clearing, still holding hands. 

Gally chuckled.   
"Oh, come on, don't be mad at her."

"You're right. I should be mad at you."

"Or you could just not be mad at all," he suggested, trying not to laugh at her. "You could be glad that we're getting closer to getting out of here. And once we do that you can get away from Aris."

"Hmm, when you put it like that- ugh no, nope. Still not worth it."

Gally laughed, his cheeks felt warm from the way she acted. He felt like she really cared about him, especially since he wasn't the only guy around now and she seemed to hate the other one, made it seem more special. In that moment he made up his mind. 

He was going to kiss her goodnight. 

At least he hoped it would just be a kiss goodnight, but he'd been thinking about it so long and had tried at least twice before to no avail, if he actually got his lips on her finally he might not be able to take them off her again. And he had to get some sleep before tomorrow. 

They got to her little house, her letting go of his hand to go over and light her lamp. 

"Can you make sure Aris isn't under my bed?" She asked him as the match light danced on her smirking face. 

With a grin of his own he obliged her. 

"Monster free," he informed her as he straightened back up. 

"Thanks she giggled as she followed him to the door. 

He turned and placed his hands on the door frame, leaning on it as he looked down at her, eyes traveling down to her lips. His heart raced thinking this was it, this was it! No meddling Gertie and no... wait, scratch that, it was always Gertie ruining things. That was the clearest evidence she was his little sister. He pushed thoughts of her out of his head as he leaned a little further. 

"Ugh, ok so I know I'm gonna sound as paranoid as Gertie says I am," Aussie was suddenly rambling, bringing him out of his daze. "But, like, d-do you maybe, like, want to-"

"Yeah."

"-stay here tonight?"

"Yeah," Gally repeated, nodding. 

Aussie giggled when she finally comprehended how eager he was to accept an invitation she wasn't done offering. 

"Ok. Well, you want to go grab the mat from the tent and bring it back?" She asked him. 

He gave her a slightly confused look as his eyes went from her eyes to her mouth and back again, which made her giggle again. 

"My bed is a twin and, according to Gertie, I'm a queen so that mattress is past max capacity with just me in it, there's not room for a Moose too," she teased. 

She could call him a moose or a dog or whatever she wanted if she kept looking at him that way. 

"Ok. Ok, I'll be right back," he said before going down the stairs so fast she thought he'd slip and kill himself before he reached the bottom. 

She quickly turned and went to change her clothes before he got back, the smile not leaving her face despite how upset she still was about him going into the maze. She slipped her jeans off and kicked them into the corner before grabbing her soft, comfy pajama pants she sewed from an old ripped sheet. She kept her pajamas in the drawer of her bedside table. She slipped her shirt off and tossed it in the corner too, taking her bun down before going to grab her clean shirt. 

When she reached in the drawer something pricked her hand and an electric current shot through her limbs. For a few seconds she couldn't even move, but once the current stopped she yanked her hand away, falling to her floor as a creepy critter crawled out of her drawer. She breathed heavily as she scooted herself away from the thing, her vision going wobbly like she were looking at her room under water. She felt dizzy, like the floor was rocking side to side. 

"Aussie?" A voice called, sounding oddly distorted as well. 

A wave of relief washed over her. Gally. Gally would help her. She turned and saw a figure in her doorway, the wobbly waves of her vision obscuring him until he came closer. Her heart sank. 

Aris crouched by her side, possibly a concerned look on his face, she couldn't tell. She felt weird. She felt weirder when his hands were on her skin. She was still in just her bra as he tried to help her up off the floor and onto the bed. His arm wrapped around her waist, his fingers pressing into her side, another hand gripping her upper arm before lifting her up. 

'Hurry, Gally, hurry,' she thought as she felt the bed beneath her, grateful for just knowing he would come at all. He'd come and save her. 

Aris had taken his hands off her body, much to her relief, but still held onto her hand as she scooted herself against her headboard to get farther from him. He squeezed her palm three times. 

"Wicked is good," he said. 

Aussie suddenly felt calmer as she leaned against her head board. Her vision seemed to float in a calming way now, a sleepy way, as her breathing evened out. 

"You remember me," Aris spoke firmly, his tone not that of a forgotten lover trying to stir up fond memories, but someone telling a story. "We used to meet up on the roof so we wouldn't get caught. You looked so beautiful in the moonlight under the Japanese maple tree."

Aussie could see it, she saw the railing around the rooftop, city lights shining up from below but still not enough to drown out all the stars in the sky. The red, pointed leaves of the tree tickled her ear as the breeze moved them. A small twinge of happiness went off in her chest. 

"You loved the fireflies," Aris went on, and she saw them too, floating like stars fallen from the sky. "And I loved you. I'd meet you on the roof so we could be together."

Aussie saw a figure on the roof with her, maybe he was tall, it was hard to tell since she was sitting. He was dressed in a dark uniform, a mask or helmet covering his whole face. He came closer and sat next to her, his hand taking hers. All she saw was him holding her hand, but she felt other hands on her. They brushed the hair back from her neck and grazed her collar bones. They pulled her closer. 

"And we would kiss," Aris' voice reached her, but it felt wrong. 

What she saw felt right, but what she felt and what she heard was wrong. There was a pain in the back of her head as she tried to think of who was behind the mask, refusing to believe it was Aris. A hand pressed to her lower back as another cradled the back of her neck, something brushed against her nose and warm air hit her lips. The man in the mask just sat there, holding her hand. She wished he'd do more to help her. 

"It's you and me, Aussie. It's me, Ari-"

The hands were suddenly gone and so was the roof top and everything else she'd seen. She fell back onto the bed and shut her eyes tightly at the pain in her head as loud thumps gradually grew more distant. 

Gally had come back to a sight he never thought he'd ever see. Aris was looming over Aussie on the bed, hands on her bare skin, lips a hairs breadth away from hers, and she was doing nothing to stop it. 

An ungodly amount of rage filled his body as he dropped the mat over his shoulder, it toppled over the railing and down to the ground, but not before Gally had crossed the room and grabbed Aris by the shoulders, tearing him away from Aussie. He didn't look at her too closely, a pain beneath his anger, a feeling of betrayal. 

Aris was protesting and fighting, but Gally towed him to the door almost effortlessly, his pulse pounding in his ears and drowning out most of what he was saying. He got him outside to the top of the stairs, set him down, and gave him a push. 

Aris' limbs flailed as he tried to catch himself on the railing. He slowed himself down a little and turned a definite broken neck scenario into a few bruised ribs instead. He lay in the dirt, coughing and holding sore parts. Then he saw Gally coming down the stairs. His face was red even in the dark, his furrowed brows looked like the devil himself. 

"Gally wait," Aris begged as he scrambled away from him in the dirt, not having time to get to his feet or knowing if he even could.

Gally bore down on him, no remorse or reasonableness to be found on his face. Aris swallowed hard and kept wriggling away from him. 

"I know what this looks like, but you don't understand! This is-"

His words were cut short as the ground disappeared behind him and he toppled down head first with a scream. He'd backed himself up right into the pit. 

There was so much more Gally wanted to do to him. Pushing him down the stairs was not enough. He wanted to land a punch, hear a bone crack. But now Aris was contained and maybe had a broken neck or back, hopefully, which would allow him to check on Aussie. He was worried that he hadn't heard her say one word and she didn't follow them out. 

Gally turned and went up stairs, not in a hurry, not ready to look at her yet, but also worried to death about her. He came in and saw her curled up on the bed, curled so tightly her knees were almost to her eyebrows. Her hands clamped over her ears, and her hand was bleeding and blackened. 

Feeling like something was very wrong he rushed to her side. 

"Aussie?!" He cried as he gently touched her arm, looking at the mark on her hand. "Aussie, what happened?"

He heard a whirring noise and a series of clicks. He spotted the little robot as it crawled out her window and his stomach dropped. 

Bellow them Aris was screaming for help as Gally scooped Aussie up and carried her out and down the stairs. He tried not to panic as he carefully went as fast as he could to the house. 

"Gertie!" He yelled when he was close enough, his voice choked as Aussie now went limp and barely conscious in his arms. "Help!"


	46. Forget Me Not

"Gally, what is i- What did you do to her?!" Gertie heard him before she saw him and, when her eyes landed on the unconscious half dressed Aussie in his arms, she went a bit nuclear on him. 

"Let's get her inside first," he said as he kept moving toward the house, girls coming out of the trees where they hung hammocks and slept at night.

Joan and Georgia fell in step with him while Gertie ran ahead to open the door. He took her to the back room, laying her gently on the bed. Joan and Georgia came in the room as well and girls started to come into the house to see what was happening. 

"Shut the door," Gally told Gertie. 

She hesitated, giving him a look of worry and confusion. 

"Gally, you're scaring me," she told him honestly. 

"I'm scared too," he almost snapped at her and tried to calm himself down a bit. "Please, just shut the door and I'll tell you everything."

She got up and kicked the door closed before returning to the bed side. 

"Start talking," she told him as she put a hand on Aussie's forehead. 

Aussie seemed to be asleep, but her eyes were moving rapidly behind her lids, her lips moving in almost inaudible mutterings. 

"I walked her to her house because we were both worried about Aris, and she- ah, she asked me if I wanted to stay," he admitted, her limp hand clasped in both of his as he knelt by the bed. 

Gertie's eyes darted to him across the bed, a narrow, accusing glare. 

"Were you guys-"

"No, shut up, I'm telling you," he interrupted, feeling there wasn't time to waste. "I left to get the mat from the tent to sleep on the floor, she must have been changing- I don't know, but I got back and found her... and Aris on her bed... and she was dressed like this."

"Oh god! What?!" Gertie exclaimed, her face contorting in shock and disgust. 

"He did something to her?" Joan asked. 

"I don't know," Gally almost broke down in tears. "She wasn't trying to stop him. He held her and he was about to kiss her-"

"No, she wouldn't do that," Gertie firmly shook her head. 

"What did he do? Where is he?" Joan asked pointedly. 

"I pulled him off her... I might have shoved him down the stairs-"

"Good!" Gertie commented. 

"- and he fell into the pit as he tried to get away from me, so I turned back to check on her. She was curled up in a ball with her hands over her ears, and her hand looked like this."

Joan tore out of the room real fast, closing the door behind her again as Gally showed her the hand he was holding, revealing a small puncture and some black veins near it, the top layer of skin slightly peeled near the wound. 

"What the..." Gertie muttered as she looked at it. 

"I saw one of those things in her room, the little shucking robots," he told her. "I think it did this to her, but I don't know what this is!"

"I think you're right, this is like... she was electrocuted or something. But..." Gertie trailed off as she looked at the rest of Aussie. 

"But what?" He pressed her. 

"I don't doubt that thing could electrocute her somehow, but electrocution has an entry and exit point," Georgia informed him.

"Help me look for another wound or mark- and try not to enjoy it too much either," Gertie told him, still giving him an untrusting look. 

Gally rolled his eyes, but the comment itself made him suddenly self conscious about it. 

"Usually it's the feet, electricity wants to get to the ground," Georgia said as Gertie shuffled on her knees to the end of the bed. 

They each took a foot and checked it. Nothing. 

"Maybe she was on her knees?" Gertie suggested as she pushed up her pant leg and checked her knee, Gally doing the same. 

"Ok, that's all the logical places, let's get crazy I guess," Gertie shrugged. 

They checked her arms, Gertie checked if the bra she had on had any metal and found nothing, Gally politely averting his eyes. He wasn't finding any pleasure in it since he was worried about her and that trumped everything, and besides, she hadn't consented to being seen this way. It was purely an emergency situation. 

"Let's check her back, help me flip her over," Gerti instructed. 

She rolled Aussie toward him and he gently eased her over, turning her face so it wasn't mashed into the pillow. Part of him did acknowledge that her skin was exceptionally soft, but he tried to stay on topic. 

"I don't see anything," Gertie sighed. 

"Wait!" Georgia said with a start. "Look at her neck."

Gertie reacted first, pulling her hair out of the way. Gally was still apprehensive about her neck considering what he'd done to it. 

"Oh my god," Gertie gasped.

Small blackened veins descended just past her hairline, a reddish purple mark on her scalp visible through her hair. 

"Why would it go there?" Gertie asked Georgia as she looked up at her. 

"I dunno," Georgia shrugged. "Maybe they microchipped us like dogs or something. Maybe that's how they took our memories. I don't know."

"Well, is she going to be ok? Will she wake up?" Gally asked, tears brimming in his eyes now as he looked down at Aussie. 

Gertie gave him a sad look, her heart breaking, unable to bring herself to say she didn't know. Instead she shot to her feet and turned to the door. Girls were crowded in the hall and Gertie yelled at them to move. They scattered like roaches and Gertie disappeared, leaving behind very confused friends. She came back a few seconds later, a pitcher of cold water from the refrigerator in her hand. With out warning or explanation she dumped it on Aussie.

Aussie gave a huge gasp and pushed herself up off the bed as the water dripped off her and soaked into the blankets. Gally couldn't really complain about her methods because he was too relieved it had actually worked.

Aussie was gasping for air as one does when they have freezing water dumped on their bare skin. She was confused to say the least, the last thing she could recall was the robot crawling out of her drawer. She looked at her hand and saw the mark it left, then she saw another hand take hers, a large and familiar one. The ringing in her ears was finally subsiding and she heard people talking, saying her name. 

"Aussie, are you ok?"

She looked up and saw Gally. Yes! Gally! He did come save her! She threw her arms around his neck awkwardly from her position on the bed, having to move her legs to a more comfortable position after she'd grabbed him. He had no idea what to do with his hands. 

"Oh I'm so glad I asked you to stay!" She sighed in relief. "Do you see it anywhere? The creepy critter?"

She pulled away from him just a little bit to have a look around and was surprised to see Georgia standing at the end of the bed, Gertie on her knees by the bedside, head resting on her folded arms like she'd been through something. And finally Aussie noticed she wasn't in her room. 

"W-what happened? How did I get here?" She asked Gally as she turned back to him, her hands still on his shoulders. 

"You don't... you don't remember what happened?" He asked her, his eyes searching hers. He had hoped she would so they could throw Aris in the maze, but for her sake it might be better for her not to remember. 

She shivered as her brows furrowed. Georgia was wearing a hoodie over her T-shirt, she stripped it off and handed it over to Aussie. 

"Oh!" Aussie gasped as she finally realized how underdressed she was. She took the hoodie gratefully and put it on, wrapping it tightly around herself. 

"Ok, what do I remember..." Aussie said to herself as she rubbed her head with one hand.   
"I was putting on my pajamas..." she said with her eyes shut tightly, trying to visualize it all. "I was grabbing my shirt when something poked my hand. It hurt really bad and I couldn't move for a moment, but then I fell on the floor and saw one of those robots crawl out of my drawer... And I felt really funny, I couldn't see straight and I was dizzy. I just kept thinking you'd be back soon and you'd help me."

Gally felt a twinge of guilt. So much had happened in just the few minutes he was gone, it was ridiculous. He felt he could have prevented it all if he'd just kissed her sooner. 

"And then you showed up... but it wasn't you... but it was?" Aussie's brows scrunched in confusion. 

"What do you mean?" Gally asked, equally as confused. 

"You came and helped me off the floor and Aris said he-" Aussie's eyes widened in realization and horror as she slapped a hand over her mouth briefly. "It wasn't you, it was Aris! He was in my room! He touched me!"

She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and Gally put his arms around her as well, her head resting on his shoulder as she leaned into him. 

"Shh, it's ok now," he whispered to her. 

"Aussie, what were you about say?" Georgia asked her. "You were saying Aris said something to you?"

"Right, uh, gosh what was it...?" Aussie spoke from within Gally's hold on her. "He was saying something about a rooftop and how we used to meet there, but it didn't feel right. I could see the roof top, and the little red maple tree, the stars and the fireflies, but I don't think it was him. There was someone. But it wasn't Aris."

"Who was it?" Gertie asked her while she stared at the expression that just took over Gally's face.

"I don't know, he was wearing a mask."

Gally could have jumped up and yelled because he knew from his dreams that it was him. Thanks to that piece of garbage, Aris, Aussie was starting to remember him. He squeezed her a little tighter because he just couldn't help it. Despite all the crap going on in their lives he finally felt a bit of happiness. It grew when he felt her shift in his embrace, put an arm around him as well, and settle against him. 

"Who was the guy on the roof?" She muttered to herself before wincing, wriggling an arm free to touch the base of her skull, a weird pain throbbing there. 

"What is it?" Gertie perked up. 

"My head hurt," Aussie told her and couldn't help but wonder if it hurt because she was trying to remember. 

She tried to conjure up the image of the roof top and the guy in the mask again. A distorted vision of Aris came to mind at first but when she rejected that image and tried to correct it the pain came back. 

"It hurts when I try to remember," she said in a hollow voice.


	47. Closer

Joan returned, her face set in a hard expression that melted a bit when she saw Aussie was awake.  
"Aussie, thank god you're ok," She said in relief. "Do you remember what happened with Aris?" 

Aussies face darkened and she seemed to shrink into Gally's embrace.  
"Yes, I remember," She said.

"Good," Joan sighed. "With you and Gally telling your sides of the story we can prove he's lying."

"Lying? What is he saying?" Gally asked with furrowed brows, as if he couldn't hate the guy any more.

Joan put her hands on her hips and gave another long suffering sigh, her eyes going to the ceiling.  
"He's saying that he heard you scream and came to help you. You'd fallen and seemed disoriented and he just helped you up, and that Gally came and threw him down the stairs for no reason," she informed them.

Aussie was livid. Heat rushed to her face as her jaw dropped from the amount of audacity that punk had. He put his hands on her body, he invaded her space, and he had tried to mess with her memories. That last part she couldn't prove or even hope to explain to anyone, but she knew and she held it against him. She now had a good idea of what Gally might have gone through with Hedy and she hated it, that just fuel her fire.

"That is not what happened!" She cried as she tried to extract herself from Gally's arms, ready to go beat Aris up herself.

Gally held onto her, trying not to hurt her but not letting her get away either.

"Wait Aussie," He told her, trying to calm her down. 

"Don't worry," Joan tried to comfort her as well, sitting next to her on the bed. "I believe you and Gally of course. Aris is spending the night in the pit and you're staying in here with the doors locked in case he pulls an escape like Athena did. So why don't you and- why is the bed wet?"

Joan suddenly asked, picking up her hands and looking at the sheets. Georgia pointed at Gertie.

"That's how we woke Aussie up," Gertie explained as she held up the pitcher.

"We? No, you did that," Georgia clarified.

"So what? It worked, didn't it?"

"How did you know it would work?"

Gertie paused as Georgia raised her brows at her.

"I didn't know it would work," Gertie admitted, looking downcast. "It was a shot in the dark."

"A good shot," Gally said.

"Alright, well," Joan shook her head. "Gertie, Gally, why don't you take Aussie upstairs and lock yourselves in. Try to get some sleep, we still have a big day tomorrow."

"We're still going?" Gally asked in surprise. He wasn't going to leave Aussie alone within a hundred yards of that creep, pit or no pit.

"Gally," Joan said seriously. "I don't like the idea of letting that shuck face out of my sight either, but things are changing around here, just like your note said. The sooner we can get out of here, the better. Who knows what else the makers have up their sleeves! I don't want to stick around long enough to see it all."

"Hey," Georgia spoke up before Gally could. "What if you took Aris with you?"

A moment of silence settled over them as they contemplated that idea. 

"Ah, shuck it," Gally finally said. "As long as I can push him in front of a griever, or we lose him in there, then I'm game. It's better than him being here with Aussie."

That seemed to settle things. Joan slept on the couch so she'd be near by just in case, Georgia even took a room inside, too creeped out to leave, and Gally went upstairs with Gertie and Aussie after Gertie patched up her hand. There was one bed and two mattresses on the floor still. Aussie took a second to finally zip up the hoodie Georgia had given her, it being quite large on her. 

"Alright, Alright," Gertie sighed as she stalked across the room. "I'll take the bed and you two can have the floor. Just, please, for the love of god, I don't want to hear anything." 

Aussie squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment and ran her hand over her face. Still, neither one protested. Gally gestured for Aussie to go ahead, wanting her to have the mattress farthest from the door and window. In fact, before he lay down he checked to make sure the window was locked. Nothing was gonna get past him again.

Finally he settled down on the mattress besides Aussie's, laying on his back while she was still sitting up, arms wrapped around herself again and seeming unhappy. 

"You ok?" Gally asked her. 

"I wanna... scrub my skin off," she finally said through a clenched jaw as her fingers curled wickedly in the air. "Ugh, I just feel the heebie jeebies of that creep touching me."

She rolled her neck as her arms shivered in disgust. 

"Is that how it was for you?"

"Wait!" Gertie suddenly bolted up on the bed. "Aris touched Gally?"

"Oops," Aussie said under her breath, realizing too late Gertie didn't know about Hedy and Gally. 

"No, not Aris," Gally sighed, throwing his arm over his eyes. 

"But someone did?!" Gertie asked in disbelief. 

"I'm sorry, Gally," Aussie apologized. 

"It's ok."

"No it's not ok!" Gertie yelled earning a shout from Joan downstairs to shut up. "What the heck is going on around here?"

"Before the whole thing happened with Lanie, Hedy snuck into my tent one night when I was already asleep," Gally explained. 

"Oh sick!" Gertie scream-whispered before gagging. "What did that tart do to you?"

Aussie wanted to hit Gertie with a pillow for asking such a personal question in such a tactless manner, but she was guilty of being morbidly curious herself.

"Gross, I don't want to think about that, Gertie," he complained. "And I have to get some sleep for tomorrow."

"Did she touch your special place?" Gertie whispered. 

"No!" Gally burst, wanting to be very clear about that. "I woke up and she was on me, I can't remember if her... her hands were under my shirt or on top, but they were on me and I felt her breath on my face. Then I tossed her off and ran away. Happy? Will you be quiet now?"

Aussie felt even more anger flare in her chest and she raked her fingers through her hair.   
"Geez, that's even worse than what Aris did."

"No, that sounds exactly like what Aris did to you, at least that's how I saw it," Gally corrected, still fuming that he hadn't landed a punch on that stupid face all the girls loved so much. 

"I'm just so glad you showed up. I don't why I was so frozen," she felt the heat of her anger turn to shame. At least Gally had been able to throw Hedy off of him. "He got me stuck in my head somehow, all I could see was the memory he told me. I wish I had fought back."

She felt Gally's hand on her back, rubbing a small, soothing circle on it. 

"It's a good thing you had Gally," Gertie yawned, settling down on her bed again. "I'm just glad you still had all your limbs attached."

A silence fell on them and Aussie got to sit with her feelings for a moment. She remembered how Gally had run right to her after Hedy had done that to him and he asked her for a hug. Oh, that hug, she melted just thinking about it. And she wondered. 

Gally's hand was still resting on her back but he had fallen still. Gertie's breathing had changed and she was either asleep or close to it. Aussie couldn't tell if Gally was asleep though. 

She carefully laid back, getting close to his side as his hand slid off her back till his arm was around her instead. She tried to settle down gently, resting her head on his shoulder. 

"You ok?" He whispered as his arm went around her shoulders, pulling her in. 

"Yeah," she whispered back, having to bite her lip for a second. "Just cold."

He shifted to turn onto his side, wrapping his other arm around her waist and pulling her into his warm embrace, her head tucked perfectly under his chin. 

"Is that ok?" His voice rumbled in his chest, comforting like thunder. 

"Yeah," she sighed contentedly. 

"Just let me know if you change your mind. If you don't want to be touched somewhere because of him."

"It doesn't matter," she yawned as she felt the weight of her eyelids increase. "It's you."

She didn't see the sleepy smile on his lips before they both drifted off. 

Morning came all too soon for everyone. Joan was knocking on the door, and only Gertie made a move to get up. At first she thought Aussie was gone and a bubble of panic rose up in her gut, but then she noticed her tucked beneath Gally. 

Aussie lay on her stomach, Gally's body partially covering hers, a leg thrown over and his hand on top of hers by her face, their fingers interlocked. 

"Oh gross," Gertie sighed as she staggered by them to open the door. "Get up, will ya. You'll embarrass Joan."

Aussie was still very much asleep as someone who'd been somewhat electrocuted the night before would be. When she felt her warm, weighted human blanket leave her, however, she awoke unhappily. She was so deliciously warm and cozy that the air felt extra cold and was therefore evil. 

Gally was standing already and helped the sleepy and grumpy Aussie to her feet before they all went to get breakfast. Aussie didn't eat, she couldn't eat that early, but the others needed to. Rachel joined them as Aussie packed snacks and water for each runner, constantly having to push the sleeves of Georgia's hoodie up. 

Sick of doing that, she went to the clothesline to see if there were any dry shirts she could put on instead. She unzipped the hoodie and let it fall off of her before taking down another shirt and slipping it on.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Gally's voice came from behind her as she was pulling the shirt down her body. 

He was turned away from her now, the tips of his ears red. 

"It's ok, I think you saw the same thing last night," she chuckled as she walked over to him. "What's up?"

"Oh, they're getting Aris out of the pit now, and I just wanted to give you the heads up," he said, cautiously turning to her. 

"Thanks," she said softly as she looked down.   
"Hey, Gally?" She spoke up, wanting to say something but not sure how to say it right. His features softened as he looked at her intently.   
"I know that the maze is terrifying- to all of us, of course- and I just... even though I don't like it, thank you for doing this for everyone," she finally looked up to see how he reacted to that. 

He seemed ok, just gave her a solemn nod. 

"You promise you'll be careful in there?" She asked him. 

He gave a small smirk and drew an X on his chest.   
"Cross my heart and-"

She placed her hands on his and stopped him. 

"Don't finish saying that," she begged with wide eyes. 

Her hands slipped up over his shoulders and she tiptoed to hug him. His arms wrapped around her and held her so tightly her weight wasn't even on her feet anymore. It was bone crushing in a good way, like their souls were trying to be as close as possible. 

"Hey," Joan called, an apology in her tone. "Time to go."


	48. The Search Begins

Everyone was gathered at the Maze doors, nervously waiting for them to open. No one seemed less keen on going than Aris did, he looked absolutely mortified. Aussie didn't know if it was because of the maze itself or because of Gally, but if she were in his shoes she'd be more afraid of Gally. Aussie herself was scared for them. She knew she'd be sitting at the door all day agonizing over whether or not they'd return. She hated it already. 

All of them but Aris were armed in some way, which was better than nothing, but after seeing the creatures even what they had felt like nothing. Joan seemed to realize this and turned to Gertie, Georgia, and Aussie who were standing with them. She put her arms around all three at once, squeezing them into one big hug which shocked them all. Joan had seemed like the one who was the least affected by returning to the maze, but this kind of behavior was out of the norm for her. She didn't say anything to them and, when she finally released them, her face was void of emotion as it normally seemed.

After that Gertie was the next one to act out of character as she darted over to Gally, plowed into him hard enough to make him take half a step back, and squeezed him tightly around his middle. After the shock wore off he returned the hug.

"Geez, Gert," he chuckled, trying to make it sound light hearted despite his nerves. "It's not like I'm going off to war."

"It kind of is like that actually," She said as she looked up at him. "And I need you to win the war and come back, ok?"

Gally glanced at Aussie, as if she'd tell him how to respond to that. 

"I will," he said as he ruffled her wild curls. "I promise. I still have a lot to do."

She seemed to accept his assurances and pulled away just to be replaced by Aussie, getting another hug in while she could. She didn't give Aris a single glance even as he fidgeted nervously. The Garden was filled with the rumblings of the opening doors as the two of them held each other tightly. Finally she had to let him go. He took one last look at her face before he ran after the others into the maze. 

Aussie had to fight the urge to follow after them, stopping after she took a few steps and her toes crossed the threshold of the maze. She watched until they reached the end of the corridor and turned the corner and were out of site. Aussies eyes stayed fixed on that corner as they started to fill with tears. She had gotten so used to having Gally around all the time, available and easily found within the small space of the Garden, that she felt like a hole had formed in her chest when he left. It felt wrong, all wrong. It felt like a dream, like she was waking up from the dream of him to the nightmare of life without him.

"He was real, right?" She whispered to herself.

"What?" Gertie's voice came, startling her.

Aussie turned to see that Gertie had stayed with her standing beside her but a step back.

"Oh," Aussie felt embarrassed for having been overheard saying something so insane sounding, worried she might be just as bad off in the head as Mary ever was. "it- it's nothing."

"He's real," Gertie said anyway, in case she had heard her right after all. 

They continued to stand there, staring into the maze as minutes ticked by.

"I think..." Gertie spoke up a little unsure of herself. "I think I knew him... before."

Aussie didn't move or speak, just stayed there with her until she was ready to say what she wanted to say.

"I think that I... I guess I kind of love him- not the way you do of course, I just think he's important to me," Gertie explained, making Aussie's eyebrows go up as she slowly turned to look at her.

Aussie didn't try to deny it or correct her, mostly because she realized Gertie wasn't wrong. She returned her gaze to the maze in silence and a few more minutes passed.

"We're staying here all day, right?" Gertie asked.

"Oh yeah."

\--------

Gally breathed deeply and evenly as he kept pace with the others. He was in the rear of the pack since Joan was most familiar with the maze, Rachel was somehow important to solving it, and someone had to make sure Aris didn't turn tail and run back to the Garden. 

The other boy did not seem at all keen on the idea of going into the maze, least of all with Gally. He'd been shifty and squirrely the whole morning, and it seemed to bother Rachel. The new girl kept giving him strange looks, like he'd said something to her but he'd never actually opened his mouth. There was certainly something fishy about Aris, but it was one of the least of their problems currently.

Gally kept a weather eye on their rear, making sure nothing snuck up behind them, and looked along the tops of the walls as well. He tried not to focus on the fear he felt that one of those horrible monsters would pounce on them at any moment and rip them to shreds or sting them with that vile poison and they'd all go into a fit like Rani did, never make it back to get the serum, and slowly go mad and die. He thought of Aussie and Gertie and how they were most likely going to camp out at the maze doors until they returned and focused on his very strong desire to return to them. That thought kept him both calm and vigilant.

They went along, taking turns Joan knew by heart still, until they reached a fork where Rachel pulled in a different direction. Gally and Aris slowed to see what would happen, slightly surprised when Joan shifted her momentum and followed Rachel without complaint. She'd lost some ground and was close enough for Gally to ask her what that was about.

"She's this White Rabbit we gotta follow, " Joan shrugged as she ran. "Maybe she knows something I don't."

"This usually a dead end?" He asked.

"Usually," She confirmed. "But things are changing."

Wasn't that the truth. They followed Rachel, once down a dead end they had to double back from, Joan stopped to cut a vine from the wall and lay it in the middle of the path before catching back up to them. Gally vigilantly watched for Grievers but otherwise found himself getting bored. He'd never been so happy or relieved to feel bored before. 

Don't let it go to your head, he warned himself, refocusing on their current situation and the role he was to play in it.

"Shuck me!" Joan suddenly blurted, distracting him from his thoughts. "Wait a sec!"

Everyone slowed to a halt and looked at Joan while Gally looked around wildly, trying to find the reason or cause for her outburst, feeling a bit upset with her for startling him when he found nothing out of the ordinary around them.

"What?" he grunted as he caught his breath.

"Aussie was right, the little genius," Joan shook her head with a smirk as she took her knife out and made a mark on the wall. "Something new did open up. That last turn was supposed to lead to a dead end."

Finally it made sense to Gally why she was so surprised.

"Gally, you're gonna help me keep track of these new Corridors alright?" Joan instructed him. "Whatever corridor we go down, you're going to cut a vine and lay it on the ground to indicate which way we went. If we double back because it was a dead end, you're going to move the vine liked you're blocking that passage off so we don't go back down it."

Gally nodded, taking his knife out to have it at the ready.

"I'm gonna draw the map," Joan said, pulling a pen out of the cuff on her arm, marking a piece of paper held in place by the cuff on her inner arm. "Ok, let's keep going."

"Which way?" Rachel asked her, barely winded and not even sweating.

"You tell us," Joan smiled. "You got us this far."

Rachel nodded, throwing a look at Aris before turning around and picking up into a light jog again, gaining speed as everyone rejoined her. It took a minute for everyone to fall into pace again, but they managed. Gally had to remember to do his new job while also keeping an eye out for Grievers, but he seemed to manage it just fine. He would cut the vine and slap it down on the path and catch back up with them easily. They found more dead ends than before and spent more time doubling back to take a different path, Joan carefully plotting the whole thing on her little piece of paper. Once they had exhausted multiple paths, and found themselves back at a familiar junction Joan called for a break.

They found a bit of corridor that was equidistant from all the branches leading off of it so if anything came around a corner they had time to jump up and run. Joan and Gally sat with their backs to one wall, Rachel and Aris sat with their backs against the other so nothing could sneak down from above them either. They drank their water and ate their snacks in relative silence.

Gally couldn't help but keep a close eye on Aris, but every time he looked at him he just got angrier, the image of Aris holding Aussie so close to him, fingers pressed to skin he never should have had access to, lips closer to hers than Gally had ever been able to get still vivid in his mind.

"She didn't look at you like that," Joan said after taking a drink of water.

Gally was stewing in plots to leave Aris in the maze and was shaken from those thoughts by her voice.

"What?"

"The way Aussie looked at Aris when he came up," she clarified, the sound of his name making Aris glance their way. "Is not how she looked at you."

Gally hadn't ever thought of that before, he always seemed to focus on how he nearly choked her to death, he hadn't thought about what led up to her being within strangling distance. He looked at Joan, seeing if she was going to divulge any more or if he had to ask for it.

"So?" He pressed after a few seconds. "How did she look at me?"

Joan rolled her eyes.  
"What, you want me to get all mushy for you?" 

"You brought it up!" Gally pointed out. "Why are you even bringing that up now?"

"I don't know, I just thought you should know," She shrugged, not vocalizing the just in case, but it hovered in the air between them anyway. "I know it was rough for you when he showed up, I figured it would make you happy."

Gally nodded, waiting a moment before prodding her again for the actual details.

"I hadn't seen her face light up like that before, ok?" Joan relented, obviously out of her comfort zone. "She just hopped right down in the box while Thena looked pissed as hell. When I got close enough she was just crouched there staring at you like a creep. It was like she got the best present in the world while Thena and I just tried to think of ways to get rid of you."

Gally gave her a surprised and mildly offended look.

"You wanted to get rid of me?" He asked as he ate his last bite of apple, Tossing the core down the corridor.

The thought crossed his mind that Aussie would love it if an apple tree started growing in the maze.

"At the time I did," Joan confirmed. "I've since changed my mind."

Gally smiled. Joan and him had a good relationship, they got each other because in many ways they were similar. For instance they were both pretty bad at expressing their emotions in words, they both were fiercely loyal, and they were not attracted to the other in the slightest but would still take a hit for the other if they needed them. Most importantly they trusted each other.

"And you have Aussie to thank for that," She went on to say. "At first I thought you were probably too stupid to be a threat, but she managed to bring out your better qualities."

The wonky smile that played around her lips assured him she was teasing.

"Don't worry about Aris, I bet anything he's full of crap," she leaned in to whisper. "Aussie couldn't care less about him whereas she's loved you since she laid eyes on you in that box."

Relief untangled the knots in his stomach and a swell of happiness rose in his chest hearing that. He remembered her helping him out of the pit and pinning him to the wall to protect him, how happy she got that he remembered his name, how she took off the rope that tied them together so he could save himself, how she took a punch from Thena to save him from her. And that was just his first few days there, they'd only gotten closer since then. He had arrived with feelings for her, feelings he did not understand at first, maybe that's how he had missed hers.

"Come on," Joan said after checking her watch. "Time to get moving again." 

She got up and offered Gally a hand which he took, catching Aris eye once he was standing. Gally was probably a good five inches taller and vastly more substantial than him and happily so. At the first sign of trouble Gally could just flick him off like the booger he was. 

As they all stretched and limbered back up to start running again, their muscles groaning in annoyance, Aris opened his mouth.

"Don't talk to me," Gally said before he could make a sound, glaring down at him from his full height.

Aris mouth snapped shut in mild offense. Joan and Rachel took off in a light jog and Gally nodded for him to follow, bringing up the rear once more.


	49. The Rabbit Hole

They blazed their last new trail, Gally marking the path with vines and Joan charting it on paper. So far there had been no sign of Grievers and, the longer that went on the more nervous Gally became about their return journey. Smooth sailing never lasted long in this place, if something seemed too good to be true it was because you were purposely lulled into false security so whatever diabolical plan the Makers had for you was even more horrifying. They tread new paths that looked the same as all the others until Gally felt like he wouldn't recognize the way out if he hadn't been leaving markers. But that suddenly changed.

At the end of the corridor they'd just turned onto was a new view. It seemed to open up in a large area full of very tall but fairly thin metal strips. He didn't know how else to describe them, they weren't spikes and they weren't towers, they reminded him a little bit of propeller blades. Joan almost tripped over nothing and Gally figured this was all new to her as well. He felt like he dare not get his hopes up, it wouldn't be this easy, it couldn't be.

When they got closer Joan held up her hand as she and Rachel slowed down, stopping at the edge of the familiar maze walls and this new environment. Aris and Gally caught up to them and stopped, everyone taking a cautious look around. 

The maze walls continued around the perimeter of this new area, a space of about 50 feet between the wall and the dozens of evenly spaced metal slats that were only about 5 feet apart. It felt almost alien to Gally as he tried to adjust to the strange change of scenery, not understanding what the purpose of this area could be.

"Ok, we have about 20 minutes till we need to start heading back to make it before the doors close," Joan informed them. "This is all new to me so look alive and we might just stay alive."

They just walked now, it seemed reckless to run in unfamiliar territory. They went left at first, just looking down the rows of metal slats, then turned back, passed the place where they entered and checked that direction as well. Gally didn't know what exactly they were looking for, he doubted there would be any exit signs and sure as heck not any warning signs. The only signs the Makers seemed to believe in were the plaques about World In Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department.

The metal slats were maybe 4 or 5 stories high and didn't fully reach the ground. Each one had a circular base that a pole running down the center of the slat fit into, giving the impression that they spun. Gally shook his head as he stared down at one and came to that conclusion, betting it only meant bad news for them. They walked straight down the very last column from the right of where they entered, looking for any kind of hint or clue what to do next, and watching out for any grievers. 

"Oh lord," Joan sighed as she crouched over something.

Gally was at her side in an instant, scanning around them quickly before looking at whatever had caught her attention. Laying on the dusty ground before them was a bone. Gertie might have been able to tell them what bone it was, but they were all smart enough to know one thing: it was human. That was bad news in and of itself, but it got worse. The bone was old and dry but some things still clung to it, dark and shriveled, and there were cuts and gouges in it. As Gally looked around he saw a few more shapes scattered on the ground that very well could be more bones.

"Who is it?" He finally asked her.

"Too old to be Thena," Joan stated matter of factly. "Must be Helen."

"The girl who got lost in the maze and didn't make it back?" Gally asked, remembering seeing her headstone.

Joan nodded.  
"Guess she didn't make it out after all," She sighed as she stood up.

"Let's not tell Aussie," Gally blurted. "I think she likes to imagine she did."

Aris gave him a brief look, seemingly surprised, but shook it off quickly.  
"Well, obviously a griever got her all the way here, and if this is the new area that opened up and released them all, I think we need to hurry this up," Aris complained as he nervously scanned their surroundings constantly.

"I hate to agree with Aris, and also I hate Aris," Gally smirked down at him antagonistically. "Let's hurry up."

Aris rolled his eyes at Gally as they all got moving again.

"I don't think you know me well enough to hate me," Aris stated as he kicked a rock.

"I know you made Aussie uncomfortable and you put your hands on her when she didn't want you to. That's enough to hate you," Gally reasoned.

"So this is all about Aussie," Aris stated like he'd just tricked Gally into revealing something.

"Uh, yeah," Gally shrugged like it should have been obvious.

"I see," Aris nodded. "You're jealous of us, you got a crush on her and you can't stand that I showed up to take her back. I understand. Aussie is a very caring person, it would be easy to mistake her natural kindness for something more. But I think you and I share the same desire."

Gally looked at him pointedly, not liking the idea of them having any desires in common. His strongest desire was to punch Aris in the face and toss him up on one of those slats for the grievers to play with at night. He tried to remember what Joan had said to him earlier about Aussie being in love with him since he first arrived, and not let Aris get under his skin and provoke him.

"I think we both want to get Aussie out of here safely, and I'm willing to work with you to accomplish that," Aris finally finished. 

Gally was surprised to see Rachel stop and throw a dirty look over her shoulder at him.

"Listen," Gally said, exhaustion straining his voice. "I want to get as many girls out of here as I can. I've been here a month and I've seen three of them die- three in one month! Now I don't care what you do to help, but once we're out of here no one- no one is taking Aussie away from me ever again."

"And what if she doesn't want to be with you? What then, big guy?" Aris said as he defiantly stared up at Gally.

"Enough!" Rachel suddenly yelled, both boys turning to look at her in shock.

That's when they heard it, the echo of her voice. Gally turned to his right and everyone followed his gaze, seeing the shadowy opening in the wall. Gally shared a glance with Joan and then Rachel as well. Something deep inside begged him not to go into the dark room in the maze with dead girls bones in front of it, but somehow that made the most sense. Of course that's where the makers would put the exit! Right in the place you absolutely don't want to go into! But he knew- oh somehow he knew that Aussie would just march right on in there, pleased as could be, so he kept his mouth shut and followed Joan into the darkness.

After their eyes adjusted to the light it wasn't quite so scary. It was still scary, but at least he could see now. There was a walk way about 20 feet wide with dark chasms on either side spanning another 20 to 30 feet before the walls rose up. the room had a high ceiling with skylights cut into it at intervals, providing some light. The walkway stretched out ahead of them for about a hundred yards and seemed to dead end into a wall, but as his eyes adjusted even more and they got closer he could see the signs of some kind of door and ... something on the wall by it.

"How are we on time?" Gally asked as he glanced back over his shoulder, not liking the idea of something coming up behind them and not having anywhere to go.

"Hmmm," Joan hummed vaguely. "Maybe we should go a little faster."

They did pick up their pace. As they got closer to the wall Gally couldn't help but notice the floor. There were stains and weird mold growing on damp patches of stone. It reminded him of slug trails. A putrid smell stung his nose and he could tell from Joan's face that she smelled it too. Despite all those seemingly bad omens, a wave of relief washed over Gally as he saw the door was round. A round rabbit hole. Surely it had to be right. He looked at Joan again and saw her smiling with glassy eyes.

"Does that look like a rabbit hole to you?" He asked her smiling as well.

"Yeah," she burst half way between a laugh and a sob as she nodded. "That looks like it to me."

Joan was happier than Gally could imagine. She'd spent her whole life running this maze and never finding anything. Day after day, week after week, month after month for almost three years and now here it was right in front of her, the way out.

"Yeah!" She let out a loud, long scream jumping up and down before launching herself at Gally, slapping him on the back and shaking him around a bit in celebration. That was his first clue at how strong she actually was. He should have taken her threats more seriously. But he laughed and celebrated with her, moved by her unbridled emotions.

"Uh, guys?" Rachel spoke up hesitantly. "We might have a little problem."

That sobered the pair up.

"What? What is it?" Joan asked as she hopped down off of Gally's back.

"It wants a code," She informed them.

Gally furrowed his brows in confusion. Code? What code? Where the shuck were they supposed to find a code? He and Joan went over to the wall beside the door where Aris stood. There was a monitor and keypad mounted on it, a green cursor flickering under the words "ENTER CODE". The keypad only contained letters which was a bit useful, the code was going to be words, not numbers. 

"Any idea what it could be?" Gally asked her.

Joan shook her head, the joy leaving her like a deflated balloon as she stared at the monitor for a moment.

"Well," She sighed. "We knew we wouldn't be leaving today, we have to go back for the others anyway, so we'll just go back and figure it out."

She had a point, Gally was not opening that door and going through it without Aussie and Gertie. Still, it felt disappointing.

"Speaking of going back," Aris spoke up. "I think we should do that. Right now."

As soon as Aris said that, the hairs on the back of Gally's neck stood up. There seemed to be faint noises coming from the gaping chasms in the room, they had started out so faint he wondered how long they'd been building up before they noticed it.

"I hate to agree with him again, but what do you say we run?" Gally asked Joan tugging on the strap of her runners pack.

Joan glanced around as if finally hearing the sounds as well.  
"Uh, yeah," She agreed, backing away from the door. "Running sounds good."

All four of them took off in a sprint, wanting to get out of that room as fast as they could. Rachel was in the lead, somehow faster than both Joan and Gally, while Aris brought up the rear. Gally didn't mind Aris being the tail this time, because there was no way he would get to Aussie before Gally could. The noises increased until deep in their guts they knew it was the grievers. The fear of those monsters overrode the pain and exhaustion in Gally's body and propelled him forward as fast as ever. 

No one looked back, no one dared take their eyes off the one exit straight in front of them, shining white hot and bright in their eyes. They finally burst out of the room and back into the light of day, not pausing for a beat but turning left immediately and racing over the parched and dusty ground as they squinted in the light. That's when a new sound reached their ears over their panting breath and racing hearts. A mechanical sound from beneath them, cranking like clock work.

Good god, Gally thought, what was happening now? That's when he saw that his theory was correct. The metal slats did spin. They turned and butted up edge to edge, blocking the way and forcing them down a different path. Meanwhile, the terrible screams of the grievers reached them from behind.

Adrenaline went into overtime as they realized the metal slats were just slowing them down, herding them into the griever's clutches and cutting them off from their escape route.

"We have to go faster!" Joan yelled. "Get ahead of the chain!"

Gally knew what she meant, they had to out run the slats and cut through before they turned. Rachel managed to pick up a bit of speed and jump between two before they closed up. 

"Come on Gally!" Joan yelled to him, obviously planning for them to stay together.

"Go!" He panted. "I'll get Aris!"

Gally fell back as Joan jumped through the next two slats and grabbed Aris by the straps, hauling him along before shoving him through the next two slats. Gally had to pick up his pace, there were only two more opportunities before he'd run head long into the stone wall and be cut off from the maze and the garden and everyone. He pushed till every muscle screamed and his heart felt like it was going to explode. He couldn't get the next one in time so he pushed harder, absolutely having to make the last one. He thought of getting back to Aussie and pushed himself, launching himself through the gap and fearing it wasn't going to be good enough, he wasn't going to make it.

Hands caught him, grabbing him and pulling him through safely till they all landed on the hard ground. Joan and Rachel were on either side of him, already scrambling to get up, pulling at him again when he didn't move quite as fast.

"Come on, we gotta go!" Joan yelled as they all stumbled forward and ran on through the still moving slats. 

They managed to outrun the last few rows despite having taken a header, crossed the wide open threshold that separated the maze from the fresh hell of the moving walls. Somehow the stone walls of the maze felt comfortingly familiar yet no one slowed down until they had run down the corridor and turned a corner to put that area out of view. Finally they paused to catch their breath and take stock of the skinned knees and elbows they'd gotten. 

Then, out of nowhere, Joan came up to Gally and slapped him across the face. He staggered back from absolute shock and from the force of her blow.

"What were you thinking!" She yelled at him through ragged breaths. "You want me to go back and tell Aussie we lost you because you decided to save the miserable puke who tried to molest her? I can't do that! Good God!"

Joan turned away, running her shaking hands over her hair before bending over double and bracing her palms on her knees, panting hard.

"Come on," She said as she straightened back up. "Come on, we gotta go. Those things are still coming and I for one don't want to miss the doors."

Gally rubbed his cheek and got moving again despite his lungs begging for a break. Aris fell into step beside him.

"Thanks," He said simply.

Gally didn't say anything, just kept putting one foot in front of the other as the sun moved lower, casting shadows on the maze walls. It wasn't that he cared about Aris as a human being, he just knew enough people had died here and died horribly. He couldn't let it happen again if he could help it, he couldn't let Aussie go through it again even if she also couldn't stand the guy.

He couldn't wait to see her again, to hold her in his arms. He already knew he needed food and sleep and a shower, but he definitely hoped he could get a repeat of the night before. He'd been surprised when he felt Aussie press into his side, especially after everything that had happened to her, and let him hold her all through the night. But he definitely wasn't complaining. All he had to do was get back to her.

"Look out!" Aris yelled.

And then Gally was shoved to the ground as something large and foul smelling went careening by, it's screaming roar reverberating in his ears.


	50. Race Against Time

Part of Gally was losing hope of ever seeing Aussie again with every second that slipped through their fingers, yet it was the hope of seeing her that kept him on his toes. It was the only reason he pushed himself as hard as he was to run faster, to think smarter, and to get away from those grievers. The monsters were merciless and never tired of chasing them. They felt like mice being toyed with by cats, batted around, injured but not killed. It was truly exhausting but he couldn't give up.

They relied on Joan and her vast memory of the maze to keep them from being cornered in a dead end, but the creatures seemed to pick up on that and soon split the herd. Gally was a bit devastated that he was separated from Joan, but also thankful he wasn't stuck with Aris either. Rachel ran by his side, matching him stride for stride, but their speed and strength wasn't going to help them if they didn't know the way out.

"Any bright ideas?" Gally panted between breaths as they went down corridors at random in an effort to shake their pursuer.

"I'm thinking," she huffed.

Gally took a quick glance over his shoulder and saw the hideous thing clattering after them, drool swinging from it's jaws full of mechanical teeth. They were the strangest, most nightmarish things ever conceived and Gally did not want a closer view than this.

"Think faster," he told her, his legs and lungs burning.

"Right turn. Make it close," She instructed.

They came up on a corridor to their right and waited until the last second to make the turn. It was hard enough for them to sharply turn their momentum, the griever being a hundred times heavier didn't stand a chance. It had enough time to realize what they were doing and start to follow, but not enough time to avoid body slamming into the corner, buying them some more distance and more time. They ran on, turning any corner as soon as they came to it to try and get out of sight of the thing. Gally feared it might be able to track their scent somehow.

They landed in their first dead end and immediately turned on their heels to double back. They slowed to check the main corridor for the griever before they ventured out again.

"To the left?" Gally asked her, hands brace on his knees as he took the opportunity to gasp down some much needed oxygen.

"Hold on, do you see that?" She asked him, pointing across the main corridor to another just a bit to the left.

"What?" he asked, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, for a giant monster filled maze that is.

"I swear there's a-" Rachel began to explain but was cut off by a shrieking roar, the griever catching up with them. "No time to explain, just trust me, ok?"

With that she grabbed his hand and pulled him after her, crossing the griever's path as it came around the corner. It definitely saw them. Gally didn't know what Rachel had in mind, but he supposed this was better than being found in something they knew for sure was a dead end. He just prayed she knew what she was doing. His prayers seemed to go unanswered when she abruptly came to a halt, forcing him to as well.

"What are you-"

"Look!" She interrupted him as she swung her foot through the air, revealing they were on the edge of some sort of cliff.

Gally had to blink hard to try and see this correctly. It was like some kind of optical illusion that made it look like the maze kept going and was level. What a dirty trick! The approaching sound of the griever got closer. and they stood shoulder to shoulder facing it now.

"When I say so, roll to your right, I'll go left," Rachel said. "Maybe we can get this thing to go over the edge."

Gally nodded and braced himself for the movement. It felt so wrong to just stand there and let that thing come barreling down on them. The last thing he wanted to do was look at it, its grotesque organic parts were a dull gelatinous green like blowing your nose when you have a cold. Except boogers didn't have metal spikes like a deranged hedgehog or metal legs like a demonic crab. Each appendage seemed to be weaponized but the one that scared Gally the most was the one with huge vial of sloshing green liquid and huge needle. He guessed that was the stinger.

"Wait for it," Rachel said under her heavy breaths. "Wait for it..."

The thing was just coming at them full speed like it intended to just run them over and call it a day, until it did something unexpected. At first it seemed like it was falling over, about to face plant into the stone floor, but then it tucked and rolled toward them at the same speed, metal appendages pinging and scraping on the stone as it went. It was so surprising they almost forgot what they were doing.

"Now!" Rachel yelled, and they sprang apart, hitting the ground and trying to keep moving away from the thing.

A screech was heard, trailing off at the end as it fell. Gally pushed himself up off the ground, ignoring the pain in his palms from landing on them a second time. Rachel also was scrambling up, her pants ripped and knee bleeding, but otherwise alright. They met in the middle and then together stepped closer to the edge to see what became of the creature. Their brows furrowed in unison when they saw nothing at the bottom of the cliff. Gally quickly looked around them in case the thing had climbed up the walls, but there was no sign of it anywhere, just the slimy trail it left for the few yards it had rolled down the corridor.

"What the hell?" Rachel panted. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Gally shook his head. "But it doesn't surprise me anymore. Now, come on. We have to find our way out of here before the doors close and I don't have a clue where to go."

"It's ok, I remember," Rachel waved him off like it was fine.

"You do?" He raised a brow. 

She just nodded as she continued her labored breathing.  
"But you're right, we need to get going or we won't make it in time," She said as she looked at her watch.

Gally hoped Joan was ok and as his muscles ached and burned, his throat begged for water and his lungs for air, he hoped he would make it back to Aussie.

\-------

Aussie had mixed emotions. At first she felt relief when she saw people round the corner of the maze, then she felt worry and dread that there was only two of them, and then guilt about being disappointed one of them wasn't Gally. 

"Come on! You can do it!" The girls started yelling encouragement and cheering Joan and Aris on.

A few guards even did the unthinkable and ran into the maze to help them. Joan and Aris now had some one tucked under each arm that had a fresh pair of legs and who hauled them much more quickly out of the maze. The doors were only minutes from closing.

"Thank goodness you're ok!" Aussie exclaimed as she fell to her knees beside Joan who was flat on her back in the grass now sucking wind. "Where are the others?"

"We... got split up," Joan panted, her voice hoarse and sounding pained in more ways than one. "Grievers."

No, Aussie thought. No, no, no. Rachel and Gally had never run the maze before, they didn't know what they were doing out there, then throw grievers in on top of that and... it felt hopeless. Aussie felt tears sting her eyes as her heart plummeted, taking down all her other organs with it. She turned so Joan wouldn't see her cry, Gertie coming to check on Aris and her, a mask of concern for them hiding the disappointment and despair Aussie also felt. Aussie took a few wobbly steps back to the doors, trying not to give up all hope as long as they were still open.

"Come on, Gally. You promised," She muttered through a tight throat as she tried not to break down in sobs.

She looked down at her watch and gravity took hold of her tears, pooling them over her eyes and making her vision blur. She angrily wiped them away, not having a second to spare for them. She looked at her watch again but still had trouble making it out as her chin wobbled. Finally after a quick calming breath she figure out there was two minutes before the doors would start to move, and three till they sealed up entirely. Aussie let her arm fall limp at her side, squeezing her eyes shut tightly as she started to accept the grim reality, that Gally wouldn't be coming back to her. He wouldn't be around to cheer her up when things got difficult or save her when she needed saving, or ask her for hugs when something bad happened, or break the no touching rule forty times a day. She wouldn't be mending clothes for him or patching him up when he got hurt. She just prayed she could remember where all the freckles hung like stars on his face, and just how deep the corners of his pillowy lips could sink, how big his hands were when he held hers. Then all she could pray was that she wouldn't have to look up and see him coming, knowing the doors would shut before he ever made it through.

Aussie seemed to be the only one still paying attention to the maze, all the others either were too interested in Joan and Aris, or simply knew the situation was truly hopeless. She wondered if any one would notice if she took those few steps into the maze. How bad would it be to let those doors shut behind her? To be brave enough to let her story end there? She was transfixed by the maze and her thoughts that made her feel as crazy as Mary was, which is why Aussie was the only one to see them. Two figures rounded the corner like a dream or a hallucination. She blinked hard again, wondering if she really truly was going crazy. They were still there, she could practically hear their feet hitting the ground as they sprinted as fast as they could.

"Gally?" Aussie whispered first then began to shout, earning the girl's attention. "Gally!"

Cries of joy rang out even louder than before, but only briefly before turning into aggressive encouragement to run, run, run! Keeping going! Faster! Rani held Aussie, afraid she would make a break through the doors if it seemed like they weren't going to make it, the rumblings of the doors just beginning to echo through the garden under the cacophony of the cheering girls. Aussie couldn't believe it was real, she cried and yelled for him to run, already knowing she couldn't bear to have a glimpse of him if she wasn't going to hold him again. 

The two ran harder and faster, trying to beat the door, falling into single file in preparation. They were close enough for Aussie to see the sweat on their foreheads as the doors inched closer, only about 5 feet apart now. Rachel entered the threshold of the doors first, running through with just inches to spare by the time she got to the Garden and collapsed a few feet in away from the door. Aussie and the others reached for Gally who was broader and slowed by having to turn side ways. The thought of him being crushed by the doors was infinitely worse than him being stuck on the other side. The doors would open tomorrow and he would be there still. Luckily that horrifying thought gave Aussie enough strength along with the others to pull Gally through the doors at the last possible moment, his shoelace getting caught between them. 

He instantly collapsed in Aussie's arms, his momentum and weight taking her down under him. She didn't care how hard she hit the ground or how sweaty, bloody, or heavy Gally was, she hugged him as she cried in relief, his head laying on her chest as he fought for breath. He was alive and he was with her.


	51. Many Returns

Reality jolted back into place for Aussie. No longer was she questioning her sanity as Gally lay there on top of her, alive and w- ok maybe he wasn't quite "well", but he seemed like he was going to survive as soon as he caught his breath. It seemed like every inch of him was covered in sweat as he lay there huffing and wheezing on her shoulder, but she didn't mind. No one tried to help him up or get him off of her which was also just fine with her. He hadn't moved since they pulled him through the door and, while she wished he would hold her in return, she understood he was just exhausted. Girls around them were peppering Joan, Aris, and Rachel with questions about what happened in there, but Aussie wasn't going to make him talk just yet, she was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to. So she just lay there, holding him and stroking his short, sweaty hair and whispering to him and only him.

"I'm so glad you're back," She said, not sure he could hear her over his own labored breathing. "I waited for you by the door all day, me and Gertie. Thank you so much for coming back to me, thank you, thank you..."

"Hey, is he ok?" Gertie asked as she came over to them, having done a once over on the others since they'd come in first. She patted Gally's shoulder as she sat down next to them.

Gally gave a thumbs up before his hand dropped back to the ground heavily. 

Gertie chuckled. "Well, I'm really happy you made it back. You had us real worried there, but I'm glad you kept your promise. I'll give you a few more minutes to catch your breath and then we'll get you some water, get you cleaned up and fed, and then you can rest."

Gally nodded against Aussie's chest, his breathing calming down a little bit by then. All of that sounded wonderful to him, but he definitely needed those few minutes right where he was. He had been terrified when he saw those doors closing, his body had felt too fatigued to get him there in time, and it almost didn't. He felt like he would definitely have nightmares about getting crunched between the doors. He would shudder at the thought if he wasn't so sore and tired. As badly as he wanted to hug Aussie back he just didn't have the strength to right then, so he was glad to feel her holding him tightly and the comforting rise and fall of her chest as she breathed beneath him, and it helped him slow his own breaths until finally they were in sync with hers.

"That's better," She said as she gave a heavy sigh. He was very heavy and she kind of found it hard to breathe herself but she definitely wasn't going to say anything or make him move. "How are you feeling?"

"We found it," He said before making an effort to lift his head and look her in the eyes. "We found the door."

He watched her eyes widen and sparkle, making him smile down at her. They were left alone, everyone following Joan, Aris and Rachel to the house to hear the story from them.

"You found the rabbit hole? The way out- you found it?" 

"Yeah," he grinned at the happiness that was playing on her features. 

"Yes! I knew you could do it!" She cheered as she squeezed him harder, causing him to wince at some sore spot on his body. "Oh! I'm sorry! Come on, let's get you taken care of."

Gally groaned, resting his head on her shoulder again. "Just one more minute."

"Gally, you need water and food," She said even as she rubbed his back and made him never want to get up at all.

"You have no say in it. I have you pinned, you're at my mercy," he said with closed eyes, a silly sort of fatigue hitting him, or maybe just a weird sort of adrenaline from making it back and having Aussie so close to him. 

"Oh yeah?" she asked with a tone he didn't quite enjoy before maneuvering one leg out from under him and bending it at the knee till she could plant her foot on the ground. Using all her strength she pressed that foot down and lifted her hip till he rolled to the side and she slid out from under him the rest of the way.

He was a little disappointed, but he had to admit he really needed water. She helped him get to his feet which felt a lot more sore since he last used them, his arm went around her shoulders as she helped him toward the house.

"When Joan said you and Rachel got separated from her and Aris I got so scared," Aussie admitted as they slowly made their way across the clearing. "How did you find your way back?"

"Rachel, she memorized every turn we took in there," He answered, still not quite believing it himself. "I don't know how she did it, but I'm not complaining. If it weren't for her I'd be-"

"Don't say it," She cut him off. "It was hard enough to stand there thinking you were lost and wouldn't- Let's just... not."

Gally looked down at her tucked under his heavy arm, her brows furrowed. He remembered how she didn't even let him finish the 'cross my heart' thing before he left. He'd have to remember not to reference his own mortality around her as it obviously upset her.

"So, Gertie waited for me too, huh?" He changed the subject for her.

"Yeah she did. She also told me she thinks she knew you from before and that you're important to her. I think she'd like it if you told her what you know."

"Really? She wouldn't try to deny it?" He asked in surprise.

"Nah, she said she loves you too," She shrugged as they approached the front door of the house.

Suddenly Gally's heart was hammering as hard as it did in the maze, and all over three little letters: 'Too'. What did she mean by that? That Gertie loved him back as siblings do? He never mentioned loving Gertie, she generally ruined his life and insulted him with the odd embrace thrown in just to keep him on his toes. Of course he'd love a sibling as one does, but still, he hadn't said it out loud. He wondered if Aussie had inadvertently revealed something about her own feelings. But it was too late to ask her to clarify, they were inside with everyone else in the whole garden bustling about. 

A blonde girl saw them and got up off the couch, offering her seat for Gally to take. He gratefully did, flopping onto the couch and scooching it back slightly from his weight, Joan and Rachel going along for the ride. Aussie perched on the arm of the couch beside him and handed him one of the glasses of water from the table which he downed quickly. They all took turns telling their story, some one picking up where the other left off as they drank more water or ate a snack like they were malnourished bears a day away from hibernation. 

Joan didn't mention finding Helen's bones or how Gally was an idiot and nearly didn't make it because he was trying to save that little idiot, Aris, but was sure to throw him a few daggers with her eyes to let him know she was still upset. For his part Aris was actually behaving himself, he was mostly quiet as the girls kept getting him water and snacks, fighting to be the most helpful to him. Gally didn't mind a bit though, as it distracted them from the fact he was using Aussie's lap as an armrest and her hand rested on his shoulder.

"So, the only news we have that isn't great is that we need a code to open the door," Joan was explaining.

A murmur went around the room, girls looking at each other questioningly, shrugging in return.

"A code, like a password?" Aussie asked, her fingers pressing into Gally's shoulder slightly.

Joan nodded as she wiped crumbs from her mouth from her third sandwich, her body now satisfied with food and water told her it was time for sleep.

Aussie fell silent after that, the whole room did actually, and Gally leaned his head back to look up at her. She was chewing on her bottom lip, brows furrowed in thought.

"Hey, we'll figure it out," He quietly assured her, giving her leg a little squeeze. 

She smiled down at him. "You're not doing anything till you get some sleep first."

"Mmm, you're right. Let's go to bed," He leaned in to whisper and saw a happy shade of pink dust her cheeks even as her eyes warned him not to talk like that in front of everyone.

"I'm just kind of glad we have time to recuperate before we have to go back in there," Rachel said as she let her head fall against the back of the couch, her eyes slipping closed.

"Yeah you guys need to rest," Gertie agreed. "Come one, everybody out. We can talk and figure out the code thing tomorrow, let them rest now."

Gertie began herding girls out of the house much to their displeasure, some wanting to talk more, some just wanting to stay with Aris who was now passed out in the arm chair anyway. Aussie began to get up but Gally tried to keep her there, gripping her leg.

"Where are you going?" 

"I'm staying here, I'm just going to help Gertie tidy up and take care of you guys," She told him as she laid her hand on his and felt him relax.

"What about Aris?" he asked quietly.

She glanced at him slumped in the chair, his mouth hanging open and his limbs completely limp like a marionette without a master. "I don't think he'll be a problem tonight."

"I still think we should go upstairs..." 

Aussie giggled to herself at how adamant he seemed to be that they stay together that night as well, but part of her was itching to go to the map room and try to figure out the code mystery. They had risked their lives going out in the maze, the least she could do to help was figure this part out, it couldn't be that hard. She figured he'd fall asleep fast and deep and she could sneak away then. 

Aussie was gathering plates and food to take into the kitchen when Gally started to get up, or trying to at least. She set things down in time to stand in front of him as he wobbled on his feet for a moment, his hands gripping her shoulders as she held his waist till he was steady.

"And where would you like to go?" She asked.

"Shower."

"Are you sure? You don't want to get some sleep first and shower later?" She tried to persuade him, worrying he didn't have the energy for it.

"I'll be ok," he shook his head before shuffling toward the bathroom.

"You'll need clothes," She said as she easily passed him and got clothes from the closet and placed them in the bathroom by the time he got there. 

He was pulling his shirt over his head as he came through the door and she saw the bruises forming on his well toned abdomen. She wanted to brush her fingers against a particularly bad mark on his ribs, but remembered how ticklish he was. A smile almost flicked across her lips as she remembered the day she'd figured that out.

"Be careful, ok?" she warned him as she slipped by and went out into the hall. 

Rachel was still awake when she came back out to the living room, staring up at the ceiling like the code was written in the texture. Joan and Aris were snoring as Aussie began tidying up, wondering where Gertie had gotten off to when Rachel spoke up.

"You gotta cut him some slack today," She said while her eyes still roamed the middle distance. "Aris was giving him a hard time, trying to make him feel insecure."

Aussie threw a pointed look at the sleeping boy, not doubting it for a second.   
"I will," she assured the other girl. "You want some help getting to the bed down here? I doubt you want to share the couch with Joan."

"Sure. Thanks," she nodded.

Aussie helped her up and put her arm around her shoulder as she helped her to the back room and eased her down onto the bed, she fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow and Aussie placed a blanket over her. She brought on out for Joan as well, draping it over her on the couch, not bothering to try to wake her up. She didn't bother with Aris at all. 

The front door opened and closed and Gertie came back in, her eyes were red rimmed and her face was puffy. She glanced around the room quickly and looked nervous.

"Where'd he go?"

"Shower," Aussie nodded toward the hall as she finished tucking Joan in.

Gertie's shoulders slumped in relief as she sighed. "So what do you make of this whole code thing?"

"I don't know, but it pisses me off," She admitted and they both chuckled for a second, the feeling being mutual. "It's always something, isn't it? I almost don't want to get my hopes up that the door is actually the way out and there's not just something else waiting for us on the other side."

"Oh god, don't even say that!" Gertie chastised her with a sour expression. She paused a beat before going on. "So... you want to work on figuring out the code?"

Aussie heard the shower turn off then and made sure to keep her voice low. "Yes, I just want to make sure Gally's asleep first, then we can go work on it."

"Is he really doing ok?"

"Oh, Rachel told me Aris was being a jerk to him. And you totally spoiled him last night, now I think he'll want to fall asleep together every night," Aussie teased her.

Gertie didn't get to give her sassy comeback because the door to the bathroom opened and Gally moseyed out. The girls helped the stubborn boy make his way up the stairs at a snails pace. Gertie laid on the bed and Gally and Aussie settled on the mattresses again. Gally reversed their positions from the night before and rested his head on Aussie's shoulder this time, resting his arm across her waist, breathing in the scent of the sweet spot of her neck before falling into a sleep so deep he never noticed her leave.


	52. Open

Gally awoke to a dull ache in his limbs. Fortunately he didn't have nightmares like he'd expected, but he dreamt of sitting on the couch with Aussie just like they had last night, his hand resting on her leg and her arm around his shoulders. He smiled to himself as he realized she would be right there once he opened his eyes. That smile quickly faded when he realized he didn't feel her warmth or smell her scent. He cracked open a tired eye and saw he was all alone in the room. Maybe he slept in longer than she could?

He stretched on the bed before attempting to get up, knowing he was going to be stiff and sore from staying so still so long. Finally he managed to get to his feet which hurt the worst of everything, each step feeling like pins and needles in the bottom of his foot. He made it down the dreaded stairs on his own but felt like he needed a rest after that simple task. He forced himself to keep going, knowing he'd feel better once he warmed up his sore muscles. Joan and Aris were still crashed where he'd left them last night, but Joan seemed to be stirring slightly. Gally stayed quiet and looked around the house for Gertie or Aussie but didn't find them, only Rachel as she came out of the bathroom freshly showered.

"Hey, do you know where Aussie and Gertie are?" he asked her as they almost collided in the hallway, his voice thick from sleep and strained from a semi sore throat from all that heavy breathing the day before.

Rachel shook her head. "I got up and went straight to the shower. You're the first person I've seen today."

Gally frowned. "Well where'd she go?" He muttered to himself. 

"Do you really have to ask?" 

Rachel's question caught him off guard and he looked up at her again.

"She's doing what she can from here, obviously, she's working on-"

"On the code," Gally finished her sentence, feeling dumb for not thinking of it first.

"Where should we look first?" Rachel asked.

Gally gave a sigh as he thought about the Garden. "The only clues to work with are probably in the map room, there's nothing really useful anywhere else," he decided.

"Alright then, let's go."

Gally and Rachel walked across the Garden keeping each other's slow and sore pace. Both were surprised that they didn't feel worse after a day like yesterday, but they were still really feeling it.

Gally had expected to find Aussie and Gertie bustling about and throwing wild assumptions and speculations around when he walked in the room, but it was dead silent. They were both asleep as if they had been there all night. Gertie was curled carefully across two chairs and Aussie sat in one, her face resting on the table in front of her, a pencil still clutched in her hand. Gally was kind of sad to see her crashed here instead of having stayed in bed with him. But this was who she was, always trying to do what she could to help.

Stray pieces of paper littered the table and the floor around her, pencils and markers stuck into her messy bun, a roll of parchment paper that she'd obviously stolen from the kitchen, and multiple pairs of scissors told the tale of her busy night. Gally came up and gently rubbed her back to see if she'd wake up. Her grip on the pencil loosened and it fell with light thwap onto the table top, and a soft moan escaped her lips.

"Aussie," he gently coaxed her out of her sleep, stroking her back and feeling the ridges of her spine and the thick strap of her bra.

She slowly lifted her head, paper stuck to her cheek as her squinting and tired eyes finally landed on him, barely focusing at all.

"Hey," she said with a groggy voice, strained from stretching. "I'm up, I'm ok."

She attempted to do whatever she'd been doing before but was too disoriented.

"Wait, hold on," Rachel said suddenly as she bent by Aussie too, confusing Gally as she was getting all up in their personal space. "Does that look like an F to you?"

Gally followed Rachel's pointed finger and his eyes landed on the two pieces of parchment paper that were stuck to Aussie's face still. She'd drawn the map on them with black marker and the lines were clearly visible. Also visible was a very clear and precise letter F. He shared a glance with Rachel and saw a smile break out on her face. She carefully peeled the papers off of Aussie's cheek, the latter looking up in confusion.

"Oh Gally, you're here," she smiled sleepily. "I think I found something."

"I'll say you did," Rachel commented as she sifted through the slightly disheveled but obviously organized stacks of paper, many of them lining up and revealing hints of letters. She only had a few stacks, as if she'd very recently had this break through and passed out in the midst of trying to confirm it.

"How much did you sleep?" Gally asked her.

Aussie's eyes tried to focus on his but they flickered side to side ever so slightly. "What time is it now?"

He grabbed her wrist and checked her watch. "9am."

"Hmmm well then... the last time I checked the time it was uhhh... 5 something... and I did 10 more traces-" She waved a piece of parchment at him before Rachel took it from her and added it to a stack she was compiling. "I think... I mean, I don't really remember."

"Ok, let's get you to bed, for real this time," Gally told her as he pulled the stray writing utensils out of her hair and tried to lift her out of her seat.

"No, wait, I'm on to something here. I can't stop. What if I figure it out?"

"I don't think you could find your own butt with a map at this point. You need more sleep."

"Did my butt go somewhere without me?"

Rachel chuckled at that. "Aussie, it's ok," She assured her. "I see what you're doing here and I'll finish it for you while you get some sleep. You did really good."

Gally raised his brows at her as if to ask if she were telling the truth. She caught his look and nodded affirmatively.

"Go ahead and take her to rest, but send some girls to help me with this, and to get Gertie somewhere more comfortable too," Rachel instructed him. "Oh, and... I don't know how to explain it, but please just trust me... be careful around Aris."

Gally scoffed. "Way ahead of you on that."

"No, Gally, I mean it," Rachel touched his arm to really get his attention. "He's more dangerous than you know."

Gally stared at her wondering what exactly she meant or how she knew that, but then Aussie's head lolled against him and he left it at that for now. He got Aussie to her feet despite her whining and started walking her back to the house. He saw the blonde who had given him her seat on the couch last night and tried to get her attention.

"Hey, could you do me a favor?" He asked her when she'd come over to them. "Rachel needs a few pairs of hands to help her in the map room, could you round some girls up for that?"

"Sure thing," She nodded.

"Oh, and Gertie is sacked out in there too, can someone help her get to a real bed?" He asked as Aussie started waking up more.

"I had a nap, I'm fine!" She assured him even with her extra dark circles under her eyes. "Come on Sonya, let's go work on the code."

She tried to walk back to the map room but Gally grabbed her arm and she jerked to a halt, loosing her balance a little.

"No, Aussie, you're not going anywhere but to bed. You have less than 4 hours of sleep, we need you a little smarter than that," Gally told her as they left Sonya to the task and he kept herding her to the house.

Aussie was in a particularly whiny mood and it wasn't one of her cuter moods, but Gally understood the frustration. She'd just started getting on the trail of something pretty big and then someone else came in to finish it. But all he really cared about was her being ok, and maybe making up for waking up without her. 

When they got in the house he noticed that Joan was no longer on the couch and Aris was gone too. He assumed they were getting cleaned up and probably getting food. Gally was hungry but he could wait. He got Aussie up the stairs and let her curl up on a bed as he checked the room and locked the door behind them, taking Rachel's warning to heart. Finally he lay down beside Aussie, propped up on his elbow as he looked at her messy hair and the black smudges of marker on her face from sleeping on the maps. She was messy but still cute, even as her face distorted in a little yawn. Gally reached over and tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear and saw her heavy eyelids open slightly to look at him.

"I'm still upset with you for skipping out on me last night," he told her with a smile as he gently poked her nose.

She frowned apologetically. "You guys ran the maze and found the door, I figured working on the code was the least I could do."

"I know, I figured you'd say something like that," He said as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it slowly up and down her arm till her eyes fluttered closed again. "Just get some rest and you can come back and put the last piece of the puzzle together for everyone."

"Oh, I bet they figured it all out already," She mumbled and pouted, causing Gally to chuckle.

"Nah, nobody but you can really figure it out," he said as he cupped her jaw and brushed his thumb against her cheek.

"You're just trying to make me feel better," she said with a raised brow despite her eyes fluttering closed. 

"Always," he whispered as she drifted off to sleep. 

He lay there and just looked at her for a few minutes, holding her hand as she slept, thinking about how lucky he had been to get back to her. He realized he'd been kind of an idiot, running off into the maze without telling her how he felt about her first. Sure, he felt like she knew already, otherwise he wouldn't be right beside her as she slept peacefully, her little hand occasionally squeezing his as she dreamt. But he shouldn't take that for granted, he'd hate for her to be left wondering if something did happen to him. He decided he would talk to her when she woke up, while they were still alone together and there was no one to barge in and interrupt him. And maybe he could finally- finally kiss her. 

He laid his head down, and as he looked at her he wondered if this is what the future held for him, falling asleep and waking up together, calm and quiet, holding hands, a bed that was theirs. With a smile he slipped back into sleep as well.

\--------

They were both startled awake by a frantic knocking on the door, a voice on the other side calling their names. Their hands were still clasped and they gave a squeeze as if to check on each other before they rubbed their tired eyes and scrambled to get up. Aussie got there first and opened it, Gally coming up behind her and resting his hand on the door just above her head. Rachel and Gertie stood there looking excited but also perplexed.

"What's up?" Aussie asked, running a hand over her face and trying to seem alert. 

"We need your help," Rachel said. "You have to come with us and help us figure out some dates."

"Dates?" Aussie repeated as she followed them, Gally trailing behind. 

"Yeah, we found all the letters-"

"And the order they go in," Gertie cut in.

"Right, we know the words," Rachel clarified as they went down the stairs. Gally was jealous, Rachel didn't seem half as sore as he did. "We just need to figure out which word goes first."

"What are the words?" Aussie asked, fully awake and curious. 

"They aren't pretty," Gertie warned her, the bustle of the Garden hitting them when they stepped outside.

"Let's see, there was six words all together, they just start repeating themselves over and over and over, trust me, a bunch of us have been tracing for hours," Rachel said as she held up her blackened hand to show it, a marker stuck behind one ear. "The first one we put together was 'Stiff', then 'Push, float, catch, bleed, and death'."

A wave of apprehension washed over Gally as he heard the words. Gertie was right, they were not pretty. This place wouldn't give them a break until it broke their necks or their spirits. 

"Lovely," Aussie deadpanned, reflecting his sentiments. "I half expected it to be something cruelly obvious at first, like maybe it was 'world in catastrophe killzone experiment department' since its practically on every wall. Seems just like the makers to do something like that to us, let it stare us in the face for years."

"Yeah, why couldn't it be something like 'rainbows, puppies, cookies and candy', right?" Gertie asked.

"Like we'd trust something that nice for a second after all we've been through in here," Aussie snorted.

Finally they made it to the map room and before Rachel or Gertie could tell her anything about what they were doing or what exactly they needed help with, Aussie was carefully crossing the room littered with traced out maps on parchment paper and the girls laying and sitting on the floor drawing them. She reached the first case of old drawn maps and dug around into the bottom of it, pulling out an old and beaten looking notebook.

"When I first got here," She explained as she ran her hand over the cover. "I kept track of everything that happened everyday until I filled this book. After that it ran like clock work and I only wrote about any weird things that happened, and all the newbies we got on box day. Then just the newbies because I couldn't be bothered with anything else. We can use it to figure out any dates."

They sat around comparing her old, incomplete and almost incomprehensible maps from the days she was the only runner to dates in her calendar, finally settling on Box day being the day everything reset and began again. If they were right, or if it meant anything at all, the code would be 

Float  
Catch  
Bleed   
Death  
Stiff  
Push

They were so cynical from past experience and disappointments that they barely got excited about figuring out the code and immediately started making plans for the escape and what they should do in case the code didn't work. They were in there planning all day, girls bringing in lunch and dinner to them so as not to pull them away from what they were doing. The plan seemed to be decided on, They'd put together food and water tomorrow and talk everyone through the plan, then the next day they'd be ready to leave as soon as the door opened, giving them some time to make it back if the worst should happen. The conversation came to a lull, every 'what if' seemed to have been covered and there was nothing much else to say.

Then Gally saw a look cross Aussie's face, her brows furrowed as her eyes flicked to the ceiling, her face scrunching up as she went deeper in thought. Finally she looked down at her watch, still suspicious.

"What is it?" Gally finally asked her causing the others to perk up as well.

"What time do you guys have?" She asked them, every girl in the room looking at their identical digital watches and muttering the same time, looking confused.

Aussie's eyes went wide and her face paled.  
"The doors aren't closing."


	53. The Worst Thing Imaginable

The atmosphere of the room changed immediately after Aussie's announcement that the doors weren't closing. The air went stale with the mingling feelings of anxiety and fatigue, the tiredness and fatigue settling down into their bones as they faced yet another new threat so soon. It was always something. Always something new when you'd thought you'd had it figured out.

"Let's get everyone to the basement again, just like before," Aussie said calmly as she slowly stood up from the table. Only Gally noticed the slight tremble in her hand. "Keep it calm and orderly but get everyone down there as quickly as you can."

The seriousness of the situation had frozen everyone at first, but the urgency finally called them to action and soon everyone was getting up, the sound of chairs scuffing on the floor and feet hurrying to the door. Gally planned to stay with Aussie and Gertie, he wouldn't let either one of them go off on their own, and he didn't really care what they thought of that. He still hadn't told Gertie he believed she was his sister, and he hadn't told Aussie how he felt about her. It seemed like this shucking place wouldn't give him a moment of peace to have a heartfelt conversation with either of them.

Most everyone had gone out of the building ahead of them and were scurrying to various groups around the Garden, starting to collect everyone into the house. Aussie paused with Gally and Gertie in the door way, an apprehensive feeling taking over her, something dark and twisting in her guts. She knew Gally was speaking to her, but she couldn't focus on what he was saying, her world was still and quiet. Her eyes flickered with a soft shimmer of light, one that was oddly familiar, one that made her look down at her chest, seeing a pin point of green light. She watched as it moved slowly across her and landed on Gally next. It turned red.

She knew that light, she'd seen it in the maze when she'd spotted the creature on the wall. It had been a green light on her then too, and her group wasn't attacked, but the others were. Even with erased memories, she knew that green was good and red was bad. The green light on her had to mean she wouldn't be attacked, but Gally...

She couldn't let that thing near Gally or Gertie, she would never recover if she saw them attacked and killed by something that wouldn't have the decency to put her out of her misery too. She prayed she was right about the green light and then, as quickly as she could, she pushed Gally and Gertie back inside. The building had thick walls and a solid door, the Griever might not be able to break into it, her friends would be safer there than anywhere else in the garden at least. They stumbled backward, not expecting her to do anything like that. Their confusion turned to gut dropping terror as she started pulling the door shut between them, a glimpse of a Griever appearing before it shut entirely. Gally heard the door lock even over the sound of the creature's roar just on the other side. He felt his heart clawing its way up his throat but all that came out was a cry that drained him of all the energy he had left, the worst thing he could imagine happening just then coming true on the other side of a locked door.

Aussie couldn't hear the sound of Gally's heart breaking over the hot, wet roar of the creature behind her. She clung to the wheel of the door with her eyes tightly shut, waiting to see if she was right about the meaning of the red and green lights. She waited for the pain of a sting or a strike of some kind, but it didn't come. She could tell the creature was still there, impatiently tiptoeing around as if waiting for her to get out of the way so it could get at her loved ones inside the building. Slowly she turned her head, chancing a glance behind her, seeing the creature pacing directly in front of her, drool falling freely from its metallic teeth. She caught a glimpse of that laser light again, glowing green on her shoulder. It wasn't going to attack her, for some reason she was untouchable.

She saw motion behind it, girls racing into the house. Maybe if she could keep it busy she could buy them time to get to safety, maybe it wouldn't see where they'd all gotten to. It seemed to grow tired of waiting for its prey inside and started to turn away.

"Hey!" Aussie yelled, surprising even herself, flinching back when it turned to her with an angry roar. She licked her lips with her dry tongue as she tried to build up some courage. "Get out. Get out!" She yelled at it, her hands bunching into fists. "You stupid, ugly thing. Can the Makers see me through you, you mechanical slug, shucking robot? Can you hear me you disgusting pigs?"

Aussie had no way of knowing that they could hear her. Not only that, but she was making the creators of that whole terrible place, the orchestrators of every tragedy that had befallen its inhabitants- she was making them nervous. But she didn't need to know that to have the courage and rage to square off with a griever.

"You're not taking anymore of us," She stated defiantly as she took a step forward. "You've taken too many, it's over. We've solved your shucking maze and we're leaving."

She thought of Lanie and felt an extra surge of hostility. "We're coming for you," she added.

"That's why they're here," a voice called out from Aussie's left, from the maze door.

As tough as she'd been a minute ago against a nightmare creature, she jumped at the unexpected sound and swiftly turned to see who was out there still. What she saw chilled her bones worse than the griever in front of her.

"Thena?" She said quietly as she squinted through the growing darkness.

"The doors won't close," The familiar voice called, but it was a hollow echo of what it had once been, just like the body and face it came from. She was thinner and her eyes were dull and sunken, but it was Thena in the flesh. "They will come every night until you leave. They will kill as many as they can."

Aussie's heart started to hammer worse than before at the news her old friend was giving her. "Thena... you're alive?"

She stood there staring at Aussie, the only sound filling her silence was was the raspy breathing of the griever and Aussie's own heart beats.  
"For now," Thena finally answered, then turned and walked back into the maze.

"Wait!" Aussie yelled, reaching out a hand and taking steps to go after her, but she was blocked by the griever.

As much as she could taunt it because she knew it wouldn't hurt her for some reason, it could also taunt her in return.

"Thena! Come back!" She yelled around the Griever, hoping Thena could still hear her. "I looked for you!"

The Griever made a slight lunge forward as if trying to get her to back up, a gurgling growl coming out on a wave of stench. Why hadn't the Griever attacked Thena? Was Aussie just seeing things now? Had Thena really been there or not. Aussie touched the bas of her skull, remembering the pain she felt there after her ordeal with Aris, and wondered just how much the Makers could do to her mind. Fresh anger surged through her slender frame, her shoulders squaring off as her nails bit into her palms from her clenched fists.

"Go away!" She yelled at the Griever, stepping forward as if she could herd it toward the maze door and get it to leave. "Go away!" She yelled into its face as it roared into hers in kind, an angel and a demon going head to head.

It seemed to give up, to turn away as if it would really go away now, but she saw it too. Motion in the garden. The Griever took off at terrifying speed toward a girl with a torch heading toward Aussie's house, a girl with skin even darker than the night sky, Rosa.

"No," the words fell from Aussie's lips before her feet started pounding the dirt. "Rosa, run!" she yelled as loud as she could, feeling her vocal chords strain painfully as she fought to run and yell at the same time.

The torch light began to move faster, but she didn't know if it was fast enough, the griever was gaining at a terrifying speed. The torch was dropped in front of Aussie's stairway and the Griever carefully paced below her house as she caught up to it, almost as if it were carefully assessing how to destroy it. Aussie was almost there, she was just passing the spot where she had given Gertie her hair cut and her eyes landed on the mason jars of kerosene they used for lights at night and her mind worked quickly once again. She grabbed up some of the jars as she went by.

"Hey!" She yelled at the creature yet again, throwing one jar that hit its back with a satisfactory smashing of glass.

The Griever roared and turned on her, causing her to falter in her steps and confidence that it wouldn't hurt her, but that green light reappeared and it stopped just short of her, roaring again as if it was angry that it was held back from ripping her apart.

"Rosa, get out of the house!" Aussie called out before chucking the second jar right in its disgusting face.

While it reeled back from that, Aussie rushed to the stairs, picking up the torch and stamping out the bits of grass that had caught fire around it.

"Rosa! Come now!" She yelled loudly, still panting hard from running.

Rosa did come staggering down the stairs as the Griever turned to face Aussie again, still making disgruntled noises.

"Rosa, it's going to be ok, just stay behind me," Aussie instructed her. "For some reason it won't hurt me, so I'm going to protect you. But you have to help me kill it, ok?"

The young girl was terrified out of her mind, but to Aussie's relief she seemed to understand and obey. She stood behind Aussie, clutching her shirt tightly.

"That's good," Aussie encouraged her, reaching back to steady her wobbly frame. "We're going to trick it into the pits, ok? So just move with me."

Aussie began to circle around the Griever and the pits, the monster growing bored with her yet again and going back to inspecting the house again like a cat looking for a mouse. When Aussie had gotten them to the other side of the pits she stopped and took a deep breath.

"Ok," she said, her slick hands regripping the torch in her hand. "So here's what we have to do. We have to get it to come this way and fall in the pit, but it won't come after me."  
Aussie almost felt bile rise in her throat at what she was going to say and do next.  
"You have to be bait for just a second- just for a second," Aussie assured her. "I won't let it get you, I promise. We're going to kill it and keep everyone else safe, ok?"

"Ok," Rosa's breathy little voice came from behind her. "I-I'm ready."

Aussie took another deep breath, not believing she was about to risk a life that wasn't hers. "Alright," she sighed. "Hey, over here!"

She had to force herself to take a step to the side, leaving Rosa in plain view as the Griever swung its deformed face their way. The laser light landed on Rosa's quivering form and went red. The Griever cried out and launched itself their way. Aussie put herself between it and Rosa again, just in case, but her idea worked, the griever lost its footing and fell into one pit, knocking down the wall of dirt between the two and creating one big pit for it to be stuck in. But Aussie knew it wouldn't be stuck for long, so she quickly went toward it and tossed the torch in. It caught the accelerants she'd doused the thing in earlier and it's whole deformed, slimy body lit up in flames. It shrieked in pain as a terrible smell filled the air, all burnt flesh and overheated mechanics. It struck out wildly with its weaponized limbs, trying to save itself, and Aussie was knocked down by one, feeling a sharp pain in her side.

Before she could shuffle herself away from danger, two strong hands gripped her under the arms and towed her away effortlessly. She leaned her head back and saw Gally's face, brows furrowed and lips pressed into a hard line, the fire light of the burning griever dancing on his red face. Aussie didn't have time to wonder how he'd gotten out, but knew as soon as she sw him that he was angry. She managed to get her feet under her and run with Gally and Rosa toward the house, hoping to reach safety before the Griever managed to right itself and come for them. But they didn't have to worry about that. A deafening boom went off behind them and they crashed to the ground. Gally pulled Aussie close, using his body to shield her as a wave of heat washed over them. After a moment of relative quiet he looked over his shoulder.

"You... you killed it," he informed her in disbelief as he looked at the burning wreckage strewn around the pit.

Aussie propped herself up, her face close beside Gally's as she took a look as well. His heavy breathing fanned over her face as he turned back to her.

"How did you kill it?" he asked her, his nose almost brushing her cheek. He had really wanted to say something else, something along the lines of 'why did you lock me away?' or 'I thought you were dead' or 'what the shuck were you thinking?' but she had just killed the unkillable. That was pretty important.

She looked at him as she also fought for wind, her eyes locking onto his as their heavy breaths mingled. "I threw two jars of kerosene on it and set it on fire," She answered.

"You blew it up," he nodded, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips as his greenish blue eyes lit up and roamed her face. "You blew up a Griever."

Aussie was smiling widely at him, a slightly neurotic giggle escaping her before she winced. Gally became all concern once again.

"What? What is it?" He asked her, looking her over for signs of injury.

She held a hand to her side and inhaled sharply, her hand coming away red. Gally urgently pushed her shirt up to look and saw a circular puncture and faint black veins starting to branch out from it. His breath hitched in his throat as panic seized him yet again.

"We have to get you to the house. Now," he said as he began pulling her up along with him.

"It's not that bad," Aussie said even as she felt an odd fatigue wash over her.

"You'll be ok," Gally muttered as he towed her along, each step painful. "You'll be ok."  
He was trying to tell it to himself mostly. He thought she was dead the minute she closed the door on him, he couldn't handle having her back from that just to watch her go through what Rani did, or worse, see her turn into the same inhuman monster Hedy had been reduced to. He just had to get her to the house and get her the grief serum, that's all he had to do and she'd be ok. She'd be ok. The tears in his eyes didn't sting because he'd already been shedding tears since she closed the door on him and he'd thought he lost her.

"Gertie!" His cry was strangled with the emotion he was trying to conceal as they approached the house.

She appeared in the doorway of the house instantly, worry etched on her young face. Her wide eyes scanned the garden for signs of Grievers before they landed on Gally and Aussie again.

"What happened?" She asked as she came out to help bring Aussie inside.

"We need to get her inside, now," is all he told just then, his gaze however, told her it was not good.

"I blew the griever up," Aussie smiled breathlessly at Gertie as her eyes felt heavier. "I killed it before it killed anyone."

"That's great, Aussie," Gertie tried to sound enthusiastic while she helped tow her to the back room of the house and lay her carefully on the bed.

"We need the serum," Gally tried to whisper to her so Aussie wouldn't hear him, he didn't want to alarm her, but she heard him anyway.

"Serum?" she repeated, watching the color drain from Gertie's face as she stared at Gally.

"Gertie, hurry," he pleaded as his chin wobbled.

"No, I didn't get stung," Aussie stated, shaking her head even as her breathing sped up. "I didn't get stung, it just hit me as it was trying to get out of the pit. It didn't sting me."

Gertie went to her side and lifted her shirt to inspect the wound.

"I don't- I'm not acting like Rani or Hedy did, I can't be stung," Aussie kept talking as she looked into the faces of her friends for relief and reassurance.

Gertie's face fell and she bit her lips to stop from crying. "Aussie," she said softly, trying to get her best friend's attention. "Aussie, you got stung. It doesn't look as bad as what happened to Rani, but those black veins are there just like she had. Just like... Hedy had."

"Ok, so get her the serum," Gally snapped impatiently, not ready to watch Aussie slip into madness like the others had.

Gertie turned to him, her tears now uncontainable.

"I can't," she croaked out before a sob. "The serum is gone."


	54. Broken

Gally felt the air sucked out of the room with Gertie's words. It was unacceptable, he had to have misheard her. 

"Wh-what?" 

With tears free falling down her face, Gertie stepped sideways and gestured toward and empty cabinet and the mess around the room he hadn't noticed yet. 

"I kept them right here, and when the Griever came I went straight to them to be ready for anyone that was stung, but they were gone. I made this mess looking everywhere for them," Gertie explained to him through sobs as her voice got more and more congested sounding. When she looked back at Gally he had a wild glint in his eyes. 

"Where is Aris?"

Aris was huddled in the basement, being comforted by a few girls when quick, heavy footfalls came rumbling down the stairs. Gally appeared, red and sweaty, panting as his eyes scanned the room beneath his deeply furrowed brows. He looked crazy, he would have looked like he was stung if there were any black veins, but Aris didn't see any. Finally, Gally's eyes locked onto Aris and the smaller boy felt himself shrink even more as Gally's face distorted in rage as he flew across the room. When Gally's fist connected with his face he almost forgot his name for real. 

"Where is the serum?!" He heard Gally's voice yell at him but the bright white lights popping in his vision made it impossible to see even a giant like Gally. He felt a fist holding the front of his shirt and could just imagine the other one winding up to hit him again. 

There was a commotion as some girls tried to get away and others tried to get closer. Joan had come and held Gally back from landing another blow before Aris could answer him. 

"What's going on Gally?" Joan asked through a voice strained with the effort of holding his arm back. 

"The serum is gone! He did it-I know he did it!" Gally yelled again, the rage of his voice and actions scaring everyone. Joan almost lost control of him as he had a burst of strength. 

"Who needs the serum?" Joan asked next.   
She felt some of his tension slacken as his strength wavered. She saw him unclench and reclench his fist. This didn't bode well in her mind. 

"Aussie," Gally breathed finally. 

"Oh shuck..." Joan breathed as she lost her own strength and her grip on Gally's arm. 

Even Aris looked shocked and upset by the news. 

"You tell me where it is, right now," Gally tried to demand but it came out more pleadingly than he wanted. 

"Why do you think Aris had something to do with it?" One girl spoke up defiantly, earning a soft murmur of agreement around the room. 

"Because he probably did," Rachel stated firmly as she came to Gally's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Gally, go be with Aussie, I'll find the serum."

Gally still held onto Aris, tears falling even though all he felt was anger, all he wanted to do was beat Aris till he was a smear on the basement floor. Part of him couldn't bear to watch the humanity slip from Aussie, to have to hold her down as they strapped her to the bed because she was thrashing around like Rani had. He couldn't handle it. But also there was an ever shrinking window of sanity she had left in which he could tell her something important.

"Gally, trust me," Rachel told him, her voice was strong and resolute. He felt like he really could trust her with this. "I got this. Go be with Aussie."

Gally's grip on Aris loosened and he slowly staggered to his feet, shuffling back a few steps before turning and racing back upstairs. Rachel took Gally's place in front of Aris and as his vision cleared he did not see the face of a friend. 

Gally's steps faltered as he got closer to the room, but he didn't hear anything, no screaming or thrashing. Somehow that was more frightening. He walked in and saw Aussie lying still on the bed, her face blocked by Gertie leaning over her. 

"What happened?" He asked, fearing the worst. His feet slowly scraped the floor, bringing him closer. Why was she so still and quiet?

Gertie turned and looked at him, her face splotchy and tear stained, but there was a small glimmer of hope about her. 

"She fell asleep," Gertie sniffled, readjusting the cloth on Aussie's forehead. "She's got a bad fever, but, compared to Rani and Hedy, she's doing ok. Look."  
Gertie lifted Aussie's shirt and showed him the now bandaged wound, fine black veins just peeking out from beneath the gauze.   
"The black veins aren't going any further than that," Gertie informed him. "Maybe it didn't fully inject her, maybe she can fight it off without the serum."  
Gertie was grasping at straws and she knew it, but it was Aussie, she had to be alright. She looked up at Gally as her chin began to wobble again. 

"Yeah," Gally nodded, trying to sound hopeful even as he felt fresh tears coming. "Yeah, you're probably right."

They reached for each other at the same time, falling into a tight embrace as Gertie began to sob, her small body wracked violently as she clutched his shirt. She pulled back after a moment and wiped her face as she sniffled. 

"She told me that Thena is still alive," Gertie informed him. "She told her that the doors will stay open and the Grievers will come every night until we leave. What are we going to do?" She choked looking at Aussie. 

Gally was at a loss, an utter loss at what to even think of that. He ran a hand over his face with a shuddering sigh.  
"I don't know yet," he said, his voice almost giving out. "Rachel is trying to figure out what happened with the serum, let's see how that goes first. Why don't you go check on that and tell them about the doors. I'll stay with Aussie."

"Should we... you know, tie her down first?" Gertie asked as they looked down at the pale and waxy girl laying on the bed. 

"I'll take care of it if it comes to that," Gally said before patting her on the shoulder.

Gertie nodded before taking one last sad glance at Aussie and then left Gally alone with her.

He went to her side, kneeling by the bed. Her skin was so pale it was almost blue, and her breath came in rapid and shallow. Gally took the cloth from her forehead and wiped the beaded sweat from her face and around her collar bones. 

"You have to fight this, Aussie," he spoke to her as he wrung out the cloth in the basin of water by the bed, brushing her damp hair back from her forehead before replacing the cloth. "You have to be ok. I need you, I don't know what I'd do without you," tears hit the bed sheets as he took her hand and pressed her hot palm to his cheek. "When I first got here I felt funny around you and I didn't know what it was. Even when I figured out what I was feeling I didn't know why I felt it. But I understand now, I've understood for a while, and - I should have said something sooner- but I love you, Aussie. I love you so much they couldn't even make me forget it."

A small smile managed to appear on his face as he realized that. He pressed his lips into her palm before just holding her hand between them. 

"I need you to be ok so I can tell you I love you, and I can kiss you like I've wanted to since the day we read the note in the basement, and so I can get you out of here and we can live in a real house together... falling asleep together and waking up together. I can tell you that your memories of the rooftop and fireflies are about you and me because I've dreamt about it almost every night here. So don't leave me Aussie... please," he lowered his head and cried freely by her side, holding her hand. 

He didn't hear the door open again as Gertie entered the room with Rachel, the two of them feeling even worse about what they had to tell him after overhearing everything he'd just said. Rachel gently placed a hand on his shoulder, greeted by watery but hopeful eyes that tore at her heart. She couldn't even say it, she couldn't open her mouth and tell him the serum had been destroyed. She just stood there with her mouth gaping before she gently shook her head. Her heart broke that night watching all the light and hope drain from Gally's eyes. 

He started to move, she thought he was getting up and feared he was going to go and kill Aris, but he simply moved onto the bed, laying beside Aussie and pulling her into his arms as he cried. 

Rachel hadn't known anyone very long, but she remembered how Aussie was when she got her out of the box, how she explained their bizarre world to her, and how Aussie trusted her. She could tell just by looking at Gally and Aussie that they had a special connection, like two sides of the same coin they just fit together. On their own they were good, they each had their own strengths and weaknesses, but together they were everything. To see them lose each other, to watch Gertie witness that, was more than Rachel herself could even bear. 

The Maze had finally broken them all.


End file.
